Search:private press

Unearthing old gems, remastering and bringing them back to the forefront is what Private Parts are up to for release number 07 in the catalog. Original London Tech masters Rob Pearson & Dave Mothersole originally released Wanting You in the early 00’s, but with the extreme prices on Discogs it seemed like the right choice to get this re pressed for your pleasure.

Wanting you is everything you ever wanted from those timeless sounds of London Tech. Dubbed out vocals, tribal rhythms, pulsating acid lines and a groove to keep you locked right in.

Flipping to the B, and the biggest thank you to Rob himself for spending weeks searching old DAT tapes in his loft to find the original pre master of the driving remix from the late Iteration X. They don’t come more heads down, and hypnotic than this. Throbbing bass stabs, luscious chords and in true Iteration X style, a roller that you could keep you shaking for days on end.

It only seems fitting to dedicate this re issue to Simon Copleston, Mr Iteration X. Thank you for the music!

World Of Echo announces the reissue of two remastered albums by Japanese guitarist and songwriter Naoki Zushi, 1988’s Paradise, and 2005’s III. Two classics of Japanese psychedelia, both Paradise and III were originally released on Org Records, the imprint of Shinji Shibayama of acid-folk group Nagisa Ni Te, with whom Zushi has guested on second guitar for decades. Both intimate and expansive, rich with revelatory songwriting and blasted, sky-scouring guitar, these reissues return these albums to print for the first time since the 2000s. It’s the first time III has been officially released on vinyl, with an extra, previously unreleased track, “Under The June Moonlight.”

Recorded in Kyoto’s Townhouse Studios in mid 1987 and released in limited-to-500 vinyl pressing in 1988, Paradise emerged from a scene in Kansai, Japan that was embracing the idiosyncracies of 1970s singer-songwriters, the soaring solos of early seventies psychedelia, and the DIY impulse of 1980s post-punk. While Zushi’s musical history stretched back to the early eighties – he was a founding member of Jojo Hiroshige’s noise outfit Hijokaidan – he found his feet with groups like Hallelujahs, whose dream-pop collection Niku O Kuraite Chikai Wo Tateyo was recently reissued by Black Editions, and Idiot O’Clock.

Paradise appeared two years after that Hallelujahs album and share much the same membership – Zushi’s backing band on several of the songs includes Shibayama on drums and Ken-Ichi Takayama (aka Idiot) on electric guitar, though just as often, Zushi plays all the instruments himself. The coordinates here are wide-reaching – you can hear the volume and intensity of Neil Young & Crazy Horse (on “Hallelujah: Left Side” and “Paradise: Midday”), the slow-motion magic of Galaxie 500, the idiosyncratic spirit of The Only Ones, all mixed up with tender guitar miniatures and stumbling garage-psych-pop moves.

Seven years later, after the transitional album Phenomenal Luciferin, Zushi released III. Perhaps his masterpiece, it’s already been bootlegged on vinyl, but this reissue is the real deal. The album was recorded at Studio Nemu over seven years, and sees Zushi backed by Shibayama (bass) and Masako Takeda (drums), his erstwhile bandmates in Nagisa Ni Te. By this stage, Zushi had started to really stretch out, and many of the songs on III swoon languorously, taking their sweet time to say what they need to say. It’s rich with lovely, melancholy songs, in a similar realm to bandmates Nagisa Ni Te, of course, but you can also hear traces of everything from Syd Barrett’s The Madcap Laughs, through seventies private press loner folk, to the slow-burn meanderings of the likes of early Low or Damon & Naomi.

When interviewed by Shibayama in the mid-nineties, Zushi said of Paradise, “it was a sort of collection of songs that had meant something to me up to that point… it was my paradise. I wanted to create paradise.” That’s something Zushi achieves on both of these albums – visionary Japanese psychedelia, en route to paradise. - Jon Dale







g Under The June Moonlight vinyl only bonus track

Japan’s electronic music scene has always stood out as uniquely distinctive. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a wave of underground projects, bands, and independent labels—primarily based in Tokyo and Osaka—began crafting their own sound. Inspired by the post-punk, new wave, and experimental movements emerging from Europe and North America, these artists embraced a DIY ethic, using whatever technology they had access to in order to forge something entirely their own.

This movement, often referred to as the "Nippon-wave" scene, remained largely hidden from the outside world. Many of its releases—on cassette tapes, flexi-discs, and privately pressed vinyl—were never distributed beyond Japan’s borders, making them rare treasures for the few who managed to discover them. “Nihon No Wave” presents a selection of these long-overlooked recordings, making them accessible to listeners beyond Japan for the first time.

Nach dem ausgiebig gefeierten Meisterwerk ,Slave Ambient" (2011) erscheint nun zwei Jahre später - im März 2014 - das dritte Album der aus Philadelphia stammenden Band THE WAR ON DRUGS. "Lost in the Dreams" heißt das neue Glanzstück der Band um Adam Granduciel, deren Gründungsmitglied Kurt Vile mittlerweile solo unterwegs ist. Mit der Veröffentlichung des letzten Albums ,Slave Ambient" gelang der Band der langersehnte und verdiente Durchbruch. Daraufhin tourte die Band zwei Jahre lang von North Carolina bis New York City durch alle Rockclubs, spielte auf unzähligen Festivals und in Late Night-TV-Shows, die Amerika so zu bieten hat. Mit dieser Erfahrung im Gepäck tüftelte Granduciel gemeinsam mit dem Produzenten Jeff Zeigler (Lymbyc Systym, Kurt Vile u.a.) am neuen, dritten Album. Die Band komplett machen außerdem Dave Hartley (Bass) und Robbie Bennet (Piano u.a.), die auch im privatem Leben zu Granduciels engstem Umfeld gehören. Er sagt selbst zu seinem neuen Werk: ,Ich wollte, dass es ein Projekt unter Freunden wird. Jeder einzelne in der Band nimmt unser Projekt ernst. Davon handelt auch unser Album - Freundschaft, Erwachsen werden, das Leben leben und einander zu helfen." Diese persönliche und berufliche Weiterentwicklung ist auch im Sound der Band zu hören. Nicht zuletzt ist Granduciel nicht nur Kopf einer Indie-Rockband, sondern hat auch eine unverkennbare Stimme, um sich der Welt mitzuteilen.

Students of Decay presents The Dip, a new full-length recording by Berlin-based artist and composer Thomas Ankersmit, marking his debut with the label and sixth album to date. Comprised of two expansive, sidelong pieces composed entirely on the Serge Modular synthesizer, it signals a subtle yet significant shift in Ankersmit’s trajectory, imbuing the hyper-physical, psychoacoustic intensities of his live performances with introspective, atmospheric, and even melodic elements.

Primarily known for a site-responsive approach to sound, often realized in the moment of performance, Ankersmit’s turn toward the studio in the last few years has opened up a new dimension within his practice. It is in this quiet rupture that The Dip emerged, a study in internality and suspended states, rich with cinematic undercurrents and ghostly spatial suggestion. Here, electricity itself feels transfigured – becoming supple, even organic – within an environment shaped entirely by analog signals.

Over the past two decades, Ankersmit has established himself as one of the foremost practitioners of the Serge, the notoriously idiosyncratic and expressive instrument that has remained central to his work. On The Dip, he harnesses its potential not for brute force or disorientation, but for spaciousness, resonance, and lyrical abstraction. Without resorting to additional processing or effects, he draws out tones that feel simultaneously raw and refined, articulated and blurred – intricate structures that seem to breathe and evolve of their own volition.

The result is a kind of auditory hallucination, a “cinema for the ears,” wherein impressions, emotional arcs, and imagined topographies unfold. Each side of The Dip plays like a single gesture unfolding in time – a spatial narrative constructed through vibration, density, and the movement of air.

The Dip follows acclaimed works on PAN, Touch, and Shelter Press, and reaffirms Thomas Ankersmit’s position as one of the most focused and probing voices in contemporary experimental music. Quietly radical and meticulously constructed, it is less a departure than a deepening – a descent into a more private sonic world, where the boundaries between perception, memory, and pure signal dissolve.

JTQ Return to Acid Jazz… At the very birth of Acid Jazz there was the James Taylor Quartet. Hammond player extraordinaire James Taylor was fresh from the split of The Prisoners when he recorded Herbie Hancock’s ‘Theme From Blow Up’ and signed with Eddie Piller’s Re-Elect The President label, the precursor of Acid Jazz. Then, in 1993, after albums for Polydor and Big Life, Acid Jazz and James hooked up again and released ‘In The Hand Of The Inevitable’, for many the finest JTQ album. In March this year James found himself backstage at the Royal Albert Hall - The Brand New Heavies were about to take the stage - with Acid Jazz’s Eddie Piller and Dean Rudland and a plot was hatched... James returns to the label with this brand new 7-inch single: ‘Wildflower’ b/w ‘Guiding Light’.

The A-side is Bossa-nova tinged slice of sunshine pop featuring James’ vocals. It sounds like an old private-press 45, unearthed in a dank warehouse basement in Oregon, and is another JTQ classic. The flip takes us into jazz funk territory. Presented in a one-o^ version of the latest Acid Jazz house-bag, with classic labels.

Chickasha, Oklahoma is not a place known for producing a lot of original proto-punk bands. In fact, there is, to our knowledge, only one: Debris'. Formed in 1975 by bassist Chuck Ivey, guitarist Oliver "Rectomo" Powers and drummer Johnny Gregg, the trio created some of the most art-damaged outsider rock 'n' roll this side of MX-80 Sound.

When a local studio offered the package deal of ten hours for recording and mixing as well as pressing 1,000 LPs and two-color jackets, Debris' came in well-rehearsed – nailing all eleven of their songs in just one take. In April 1976, the same month as Ramones' debut album, Debris' would release their lone record onto the world.

Opener "One Way Spit" could easily be mistaken for a lost KBD single – from Chuck's bizarre count-in to the band's trashy start-stop rhythms, unfurling a Dadaist flag around Johnny's visceral vocals. On "Tricia," a reference to the then-current Patty Hearst trial, Oliver's gruesome groans are sardonically juxtaposed with an electric saw. These LSD-tinged tunes are a potent mix of Beefheart-ian controlled chaos and the genuinely weird avant-rock associated with the mid-'70s Cleveland scene.

Enhanced by analog synthesizers and electronic effects, the album sounds like Eno-era Roxy Music or Stooges' Fun House buried deep in the red Oklahoma dirt. While punk would spark a handful of bands who boldly straddled the line between the primal and the experimental, the relatively unsung Debris' were one of the first to do so.

Debris' had a standing invitation to play New York at Max's Kansas City and CBGB in 1976, although they never made it out of Oklahoma. The private-press edition of their self-titled album (also known as Static Disposal, which was actually the label name printed on the original front cover) has since become a collector's item and is even namechecked on the infamous NWW list.

‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ is the latest collection selected by Mikey Young (Total Control, EddyCurrent Suppression Ring) and Keith Abrahamsson (Founder and Head of A&R at AnthologyRecordings), the mangled minds behind the beloved ‘Follow the Sun’, ‘Sad About the Times’,and ‘…Still Sad’ compilations. The twenty tracks of ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ make a conscious(and unconscious) detour from its predecessors, sourced entirely from private press releases,spanning new decades and production modes within homespun folk, soft rock and otherwise70s and 80s FM radio adjacent music.  The magic of ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ is the untold story of the artists behind these songs; thosewho missed the big time, but whose song craft and unrequited care hit the right notes, bothhigh and low.
Where ‘Follow the Sun’ and ‘Sad About the Times’ introduced us to the fame chasing, ambitioncrashing crooners who missed their shot in the mainstream, ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ delvesdeeper into the isolated wilds - a private world where production quirks, late-night tape hiss andone-man studio dreams were not necessarily a choice but the hand that was dealt.
With the parameters set to ‘private press only’, Young and Abrahamsson follow a circuitous trailof invention and emotion, documenting a spirit that’s more homespun, sometimes lonelier andoften a little weirder. The guitars still strum, but the keyboards’ hum is more prevalent andprecious; wistful harmonies brush up against lo-fi drum machines; a bittersweet fog lingeringover even the brightest melodies.
As with their previous collaborations, Young and Abrahamsson weren’t interested inconstructing a museum or drafting a historical survey. ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ is a sentimentalmixtape, assembled late at night when the mind wanders and old memories blur with imaginedfutures, those within reach and those far too mysterious to ever encounter. Songs wereunearthed in personal collections, deep YouTube burrows, dilapidated web archives and thedim corners of Discogs, with many selections tied not only to intuition but to personalconnection.  Some tracks arrived via friends - Kelley Stoltz, a frequent guide for Young, tipped him off toboth Peter Kraemer’s lost gem ‘Let the Light Slip’ and Awakening’s revelatory closer - addingan unseen but deeply felt thread of camaraderie to the compilation.
The journey takes in a wide, strange sweep: The Watson Brothers Band’s ‘Just Whistle’ opensthe collection with a sigh and a shrug, a song that feels like it’s been waiting for decades to beheard again. Jim Huxley’s ‘Tessa on a Magazine’, rediscovered after a long and winding searchby Young, shimmers with a distinctly Australian melancholia. The heartbreak of Rick Penta’s‘My Story Changes’ and Twice As Nice’s delicate ‘Thoughts of You’ float easily alongside themore buoyant, radio-dream sheen of Barracuda’s ‘Baby I Love You’ and MAK’s sunshinedappled ‘That’s Life’.
Widening the aperture to the late 1970s and early 1980s allows for a deeper exploration intoevolving production techniques and musical technologies. The Squad’s ‘D.L.M.H.I.M.A.’ andChristoph Spendel Group’s ‘Forever’ crackle with the kind of bedroom synth warmth that couldonly come from the analogue age, while the soulful, yearning undercurrent of Awakening’s‘Gotta Do Somethin / Might As Well Cultivate’ caps the collection with a call for action - ormaybe just acceptance - in an accidental Brian Eno ‘Here Come the Warm Jets’ parroting.
While ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ moves away from the ‘sad man with guitar’ archetype that hoveredover its predecessors, it remains tethered to a familiar emotional gravity - a balance of longingand lightness that defines this corner of the musical universe. Each track shuffles gentlybetween resignation and hope, sadness and serenity, as if the artists themselves were chasinga dream just beyond reach, recording not for fame but for the simple act of getting it, thatprimal, creative itch, out into the world.
Available on CD and 2LP, featuring the third eye-opening artwork of Dang Wayne Olsen. Thedouble LP set arrives in an outrageous double-wide spine jacket with printed inners and adream journal entry by Pacific Northwest artifactual authority Josh Lewellen.

A captivating deep cut from the golden age of Italian library music, Il Ponte Dell’Asia stands as one of Piero Umiliani’s most evocative and exotic soundscapes. Originally released in 1967 as a private pressing for Italian the TV documentary by Corrado Sofia, this elusive gem blends Far Eastern motifs with the elegance of mid-century European jazz and the textured experimentation that defines Umiliani’s best work.

On Il Ponte Dell’Asia, Umiliani constructs a cinematic bridge between continents, layering modal melodies, sinuous flutes, shimmering vibraphones, and richly orchestrated strings over hypnotic rhythms and subtly psychedelic touches. The result is a masterful fusion of East-meets-West that channels both travelogue fantasy and avant-garde sophistication — a rare synthesis of traditional instrumentation and modernist sensibility.

Exported from the original tapes, pressed on high-quality vinyl and with faithfully restored artwork, this reissue offers a long-overdue return to one of Umiliani’s most immersive sonic journeys, an essential for fans of Italian library music, film scores, and genre-defying jazz.

Rediscover a lost jewel from the vault of one of Italy’s most visionary composers — where bamboo forests, smoky clubs, and dreamlike landscapes converge in sound.

©℗ 1967, Liuto Edizioni Musicali / Licensed to Holy Basil Records by Liuto Edizioni Musica

'Maybe I'm Dreaming' ist die neueste Sammlung von Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring) und Keith Abrahamsson (Gründer und Leiter A&R bei Anthology Recordings) - den Köpfen hinter den beliebten Kompilationen 'Follow the Sun', 'Sad About the Times' und '...Still Sad'. Die zwanzig Tracks von 'Maybe I'm Dreaming' weichen von ihren Vorgängern ab. Sie stammen vollständig aus privaten Pressungen und umspannen neue Jahrzehnte und Produktionsmodi innerhalb der Genres Homepunk-Folk, Softrock und sonstiger FM-Radio-Musik der 70er und 80er Jahre. Die Magie von 'Maybe I'm Dreaming' liegt in den unerzählten Geschichten der Künstler:innen, die hinter diesen Liedern stehen - diejenigen, die den großen Durchbruch verpasst haben, deren Songhandwerk und unerwiderte Sorgfalt aber die richtigen Töne treffen.

'Maybe I'm Dreaming' taucht tief in die isolierte Wildnis ein - eine private Welt, in der Produktionsmacken, nächtliches Bandrauschen und Ein-Mann-Studio-Träume keine Wahl waren, sondern das ausgeteilte Blatt.

Die Songs wurden in persönlichen Sammlungen, in den Tiefen von YouTube, in verfallenen Webarchiven und in den düsteren Ecken von Discogs ausgegraben. Die Auswahl vieler Stücke basiert dabei nicht nur auf Intuition, sondern auch auf persönlichen Verbindungen. Einige Tracks wurden über Freunde entdeckt und fügen der Zusammenstellung einen unsichtbaren, aber tief empfundenen Faden der Kameradschaft hinzu.

Zwar entfernt sich 'Maybe I'm Dreaming' vom Archetyp des „traurigen Mannes mit Gitarre“, der über den Vorgängern schwebte, aber die vertraute emotionale Schwere bleibt erhalten - eine Balance aus Sehnsucht und Leichtigkeit, die diese Ecke des musikalischen Universums definiert. Jeder Track schwankt sanft zwischen Resignation und Hoffnung, Traurigkeit und Gelassenheit, als würden die Künstler selbst einem unerreichbaren Traum hinterherjagen und die Aufnahmen nicht wegen des Ruhmes, sondern aus dem einfachen Bedürfnis heraus machen, diesen ursprünglichen, kreativen Drang in die Welt hinauszutragen.

'Maybe I'm Dreaming' ist eine Einladung, noch ein wenig länger mit halb geschlossenen Augen im Grenzbereich zwischen Erinnerung und Vorstellung zu schweben. Vielleicht träumst du. Vielleicht bist du wach. Vielleicht spielt es keine Rolle.

- 2LP: (Das Doppel-LP-Set mit dem Artwork von Dang Wayne Olsen wird in einer breiten Kartontasche mit bedruckten Innenhüllen geliefert. Zudem enthält es einen Traumtagebucheintrag von Josh Lewellen, dem Experten für Artefakte aus dem pazifischen Nordwesten.)

We’re back in the groove with the next instalment of our 45s, where killer music always wins over oddball cover art. This time we’re serving up a Balearic, under-the-radar sunset jam from obscure Belgian outfit North South East West. Soulful, warm, and effortlessly cool, it’s the kind of track that makes you want to quit your job and move to somewhere hotter.

To stretch out the magic, we called on Peckham’s finest, Medlar, who turns in a dubbed-out, spacey flip that sends the original into orbit. It’s deep, trippy, and built for the mix — you’ll want two copies just to keep it going.

File next to: forgotten private press yacht soul, poolside AOR, and those records that get Shazams pinging when they hit the turntable.

In 1979, Record Player privately pressed and issued a solitary 45 on their Gem City Records imprint in Dayton, Ohio. Though they had recorded a host of other songs, and were on the verge of signing to a major label, their trajectory stalled and the band splintered by the early 1980s. In the early 2000s, Record Player principle Charles Jackson surfaced with their unreleased songs. Todate, only two Record Player songs have been reissued, as part of Now-Again's long-running Soul Cal series. Now, the entirety of their oeuvre is presented here as Free Your Mind, and their story detailed in words by Bret Sjerven. This is a special release for us at Now-Again, and will be perfect for any fan of the deep disco scene that birthed the likes of Luther Davis, Edge of Daybreak, Tomorrow's People, Split Decision Band, and so many others issued by us, Numero Group, and other like minded labels.

The extroverted blend of attitude, energy, and ostentatiousness that spills from the New York Dolls’ self-titled debut can be seen in full view on the album cover. Depicting the quintet in its hallmark flash-and-trash apparel and in drag appearance, the 1973 album scared away a considerable amount of potential listeners while capturing the attention of a sizable audience that recognized the band for what it was: zeitgeist pioneers who helped develop the punk and glam rock movements.

Named by Rolling Stone the 301st Greatest Album of All Time and by Mojo the 49th greatest album of all time, New York Dolls receives long-overdue audiophile treatment on Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set. Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, this collectible version marks the first time the group’s career-making statement is available to be experienced in audiophile quality.

Far from harboring the crude elements that became associated with the punk scene, New York Dolls benefits from keen production overseen by none other than Todd Rundgren. Though more accustomed to working far higher-caliber musicians, Rundgren — taken by the New York Dolls’ charisma and cool, if not their instrumental approach — fully understood the ensemble’s aesthetic. He captured what went down at New York City’s Record Plant with an astute blend of live-on-the-floor feel, raw authenticity, and professional acumen.

On Mobile Fidelity’s definitive-sounding reissue, you can hear those facets as well as key details, dynamics, and textures with previously unimaginable insight. Rundgren preserved generous degrees of grit, grime, and grease while bestowing the raucous music with elevated levels of separation, solidity, and impact every landmark recording deserves. His vision extends to introducing choice accents — barroom piano notes, Moog synthesizer passages, Buddy Bowser’s honking saxophones — that add to the songs’ appeal without interfering with the primary architecture.

Afforded extra groove space on this pressing, the tenor, presentation, and attack of both vocalist David Johansen and now-iconic guitarists Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain come across with stunning vibrancy and vitality. The New York Dolls often seem headed off the rails and into the red, but somehow, the strut, swagger, and sloppiness — and the associated sleaze and scruff, scrape and snarl, frenzy and feverishness those characteristics entail — remain together as a whole that shakes its collective fist at the frustrations, isolation, disarray, and disillusionment of youth chaos and urban decay.

Kicking off its debut with “Personality Crisis,” cited by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the band makes obvious its grasp of alienation, deviance, displacement, and suburban disaffection — as well as its capacity to play hanging-by-a-thread boogie, noisy rock ‘n’ roll, and Brill Building-inspired pop. The lipstick-kissed New York Dolls possesses traits many of its harsher predecessors would overlook: joyfulness and melody, topped with a knack for knowing how and where to take a song inside of three-and-a-half minutes.

Dive and dash with the belligerent “Looking for a Kiss”; stomp your feet and clap your hands to the big choruses of “Jet Boy”; surrender to the demands and provocations of the coded “Vietnamese Baby”; decide whether “Bad Girl” yearns to explode or implode. It’s one of several tunes here that allude to the world coming to end. Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t time for a fling before everything burns. “There’s no place I gotta go,” yowls Johansen. And he means it.

Adorned with tonal crunch, glitter, and gristle, New York Dolls takes pride in its brashness and brattiness. The rambunctious effort, which earned the band the distinction of being voted both “Best New Group of the Year” and “Worst New Group of the Year” in the pages of Creem, displays knowing reverence for the blues without calling attention to the style. The folk-laden “Lonely Planet Boy” is nothing if not a collision of heart-on-the-sleeve emotions and the desire in the face of challenges to maintain a tough-skinned exterior. An interpretation of Bo Diddley’s “Pills,” complete with shivering harmonica and clattering rhythms, announces there’s no cure for what infects this band. It’s that contagious. And how.

His deliveries gushing with campy fun, playful irreverence, and sheer decadence, Johansen doubles as the equivalent of an open fire hydrant that spouts at will. He’s at once tender and vicious, serious and tongue-in-cheek. On arguably his finest hour on the album, Johansen’s phrasing, passion, and lyrical ambiguity alone turn “Trash” into an insistent glam-rock gem whose echoing harmonies and girl-group references stamp it a pop classic.

Too much, too soon? Only for those averse to some of the finest rock ‘n’ roll ever put on tape.

Strut present a new single vinyl reissue of Vambe"s sought-after privately pressed album from 1982, Drumland Dreamland. A self-taught drummer, inventor, and sonic experimentalist, Vambe holds a unique place in British music. The creator of his own instrument, the drumgita (pronounced "drumguitar") or string-drum, he aimed to create music that had never been previously made to pursue access to the fourth dimension and forge a radical new musical language - intuitive, polyrhythmic and metaphysical. Drumland Dreamland is deep and haunting; a dense tapestry of layered percussion, time-warped tape loops, and spiralling drumgita figures, all underpinned by hypnotic improvisations from Brazilian pianist Rafael Dos Santos. It is both ecstatic and unsettling, a landmark recording in black British experimental music.

Strut now present a new single vinyl reissue of Vambe"s privately pressed original album from 1982, Drumgita Solo. A self-taught drummer, inventor, and sonic experimentalist, Vambe is a unique figure in British music. The creator of his own instrument, the drumgita (pronounced "drum-guitar") or string-drum, Vambe intended to create a kind of music that had never been made in order to pursue access to the fourth dimension. The album plays with time, mixing hypnotic, trance-like drumgita pieces with the same segments played backwards. You can hear echoes of African drumming traditions, minimalist repetition, and tape-manipulated musique concrète - but ultimately, the album defies genre. It is a solitary voyage, spiritual and futuristic.

Sublime private-press piano improvisations channeled from another world by Willem Nyland. Remastered from the original tapes and reissued for the first time, with in-depth liner notes by Matt Marble of the American Museum of Paramusicology. A Columbia-educated chemist by profession and a self-taught pianist by affinity, Willem Nyland (1890-1975) is known as a spiritual teacher in the tradition of Greek-Armenian mystic George Gurdjieff. In the mid/late 1960s, a split with Gurdjieff led Nyland to start his own group in upstate New York. There, after a Friday night lecture on 'The Work' and a shot of brandy, Nyland would launch into remarkable piano improvisations on a specially tuned baby grand, sometimes playing for over an hour. Each improvisation was meticulously recorded and cataloged, a major part of Nyland's teachings. 16 of these recordings were released as standalone LPs on Nyland's own Gauge Hill Press, with artwork by Hungarian American decorative artist Ilonka Karasz, Nyland's wife of over 50 years. These records, with their cascading, deeply emotional playing and beautiful cover art, have become highly coveted by collectors and "paramusicologists." Each contains depths of spiritual information and lyrical, almost visual instrumental storytelling. Nyland deftly and subtly shifts moods and tones throughout these truly inspired extended improvisations.

‘Mormaço Queima’ is where it all began for Ana Frango Eléctrico. Raw, quirky and lo-fi, it’s a debut album brimming with attitude and youthful energy, characteristics that would go on to define their sound. Previously released digitally in Brazil in 2018, with a private press CD version in 2020 and later a Brazilian vinyl version in 2022, here at Mr Bongo we felt it deserved a much-needed worldwide edition for all of us to savour.

A charming, idiosyncratic blend of MPB, Tropicália, and indie from a talented singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer who would later become one of Brazil’s brightest international stars. ‘Mormaço Queima’ has a cool, laidback, swagger channelling ‘90s bands such as Pavement. The arrangements feel loose and easy, the opener, 'Farelos' (Crumbs), seems to ebb and flow on a razor's edge before the percussion and Antonio Neves' trombone draws the song into a structure. Another highlight is 'No Bico Do Mamilo', which has a free-flowing vibe, Ana pushing, pulling, and playing with the song's energy, keeping listeners constantly on their toes. Tracks such as 'Roxo' lean more into a punk attitude, with the pendulum swinging from easy-going to frenetic. The longest song on the album 'Picles', continues to sway the pendulum this time moving from DIY punk-funk into a psychedelic workout

Co-produced by friends and fellow future collaborators Guilherme Lirio, Gustavo Benjão, Marcelo Callado, and Thiago Nassif, ‘Mormaço Queima’ is a playful showcase of Ana Frango Eléctrico’s distinctive style. Plotting Ana's musical career, it's clear they are not one to be pigeon-holed, nor to be confined to a single genre. Instead, they are ever evolving and this captivating debut album was the building block for a career that has already seen them gain multiple Latin-Grammy awards and tour the world with their music.

Far Out Recordings continues its reissue campaign of the late Argentinian guitarist Agustin Pereyra Lucena's work with the first-ever vinyl reissue of his singular 1988 private press album, Puertos De Alternativa, now his most sought-after LP. The album features some of Agustin’s most uniquely beautiful compositions, including “Luces de Valeria” and “Preparativos Maritimos,” alongside Baden Powell's “Pequeño Vals” and “O Cego Aderaldo (Nordeste...),” and “Tema Barroco” by his longtime collaborator, Guilhermo Reuter.

By 1988, Agustín had established himself as one of Argentina’s foremost interpreters of Brazilian music. The seventies saw success with his group Candeias, and he gained recognition in Brazil, forming friendships and collaborations with luminaries such as Vinicius de Moraes, Baden Powell, Dorival Caymmi, Toquinho, and Maria Bethania. Following the era of dictatorship in South America, Agustín spent the late seventies and early eighties, living and touring in Norway as part of his European travels with his group Agustín Pereyra Lucena quartet.

Recorded after returning to his native Buenos Aires, Agustin Peyera Lucena’s Puertos de Alternativa emerged from this confluence of diverse experiences and influences, revealing an artist deeply connected to his environment. The album's title, meaning "Alternative Harbours," reflects Agustín's particular affinity for water. He observed that much of his favourite music originated from places with rivers and seas nearby, noting, "There is a flow near water that influences guitar playing for sure."

With a profound connection to both instrument and environment, Agustín’s music is often difficult to place. The album begins rooted deeply in South American soil, drawing clear inspiration from Brazilian guitar masters like Heitor Villa Lobos, Garoto and Baden Powell. But, as it progresses, a sense of journey unfolds, evoking new landscapes and horizons – from the crystalline beauty of glacial Norway to the gentle currents of the Rio de la Plata.

The ensemble on Puertos de Alternativa features notable Argentinian musicians, including drummer Osvaldo Avena, flautist Rubén Izarrualde, and saxophonist Bernardo Baraj.

Mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis Studios from the original master tapes which had been lovingly kept by Agustin’s nephew José Lucena Perreyra


Tracklist & Credits:

A1. Luces De Valeria (Agustin Pereyra Lucena)
Guitar, Vocals – Agustin Pereyra Lucena
Piano, Bass, Drums, Vocals – Guillermo Reuter
Tamboril – Julio Said

A2. Pequeña Valsa (Baden Powell)
Arranged By Flute – Lucho González
Drums – Osvaldo Avena
Flute – Alejandro Santos
Guitar – Agustin Pereyra Lucena
Tambora – Eduardo Avena

A3. Planicie (El Llano) (Agustin Pereyra Lucena)
Arranged By Flute – Lucho González
Flute – Rubén Izarrualde
Keyboards, Acoustic Bass, Percussion, Arranged By Keyboards – Guillermo Reuter
Guitar – Agustin Pereyra Lucena

A4. Tema Barroco (Guillermo Reuter)
Guitar – Agustin Pereyra Lucena
Percussion – Guillermo Reuter

A5. O Cego Aderaldo (Nordeste...) (Baden Powell)
Guitar – Agustin Pereyra Lucena

B1. Tres Que Quedaron (Agustin Pereyra Lucena, Andrés Laprida)
Drums – Osvaldo López
Flute – Rubén Izarrualde
Piano, Keyboards, Bass, Directed By – Guillermo Reuter
Soprano Saxophone – Bernardo Baraj
Electric Piano, Arranged By – Andrés Laprida
Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals – Agustin Pereyra Lucena

B2. Preparativos Maritimos (Andrés Laprida, Agustin Pereyra Lucena, Guillermo Reuter)
Guitar, Vocals – Agustin Pereyra Lucena
Keyboards, Acoustic Bass, Percussion, Arranged By – Guillermo Reuter

B3. Puertos De Alternativa (Agustin Pereyra Lucena)
Guitar, Effects – Agustin Pereyra Lucena

B4. Casi-Numbe (Luis González Cárpena, Agustin Pereyra Lucena)
Bass – Lucho González
Bass Flute – Rubén Izarrrualde
Berimbau – Horacio Veros
Keyboards, Piano, Vocals, Drums, Arranged By – Guillermo Reuter
Guitar, Vocals, Arranged By – Agustin Pereyra Lucena

The Last Question is the first album by electronics master Tim Clark. It collects his early works, when he was the Music Director of the Strasenburgh Planetarium in Rochester, N.Y. These tunes were the soundtrack to the planetarium’s adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s The Last Question short stoy. The idea was conceived by Von Del Chamberlain, director of teh Abrams Planetarium, and was taken to fruition in a joint venture bewtween the Abrams and Strasenbergh Planetariums, were the shows were premiered in 1972.

Clark composed and produced the works in the Strasenberg Planetarium’s own sound studio, equipped with three Ampex 440 recorders, a 4-channel mixing board with 18 inputs and a Moog Synthesizer. The album was released as a private pressing in 1973 and it has since become an elusive collector’s piece among electronic music afficionados. Comes with remastered sound and straight reproduction of the original artwork.

ULTRA RARE OUTER SPACE PRIVATE PRESS!

RIYL : Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Iasos, Peter Davidson, Michael Stearns, Steve Roach...

The Last Question is the first album by electronics master Tim Clark. It collects his early works, when he was the Music Director of the Strasenburgh Planetarium in Rochester, N.Y. These tunes were the soundtrack to the planetarium’s adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s The Last Question short stoy. The idea was conceived by Von Del Chamberlain, director of teh Abrams Planetarium, and was taken to fruition in a joint venture bewtween the Abrams and Strasenbergh Planetariums, were the shows were premiered in 1972.

Clark composed and produced the works in the Strasenberg Planetarium’s own sound studio, equipped with three Ampex 440 recorders, a 4-channel mixing board with 18 inputs and a Moog Synthesizer. The album was released as a private pressing in 1973 and it has since become an elusive collector’s piece among electronic music afficionados. Comes with remastered sound and straight reproduction of the original artwork.

ULTRA RARE OUTER SPACE PRIVATE PRESS!

RIYL : Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Iasos, Peter Davidson, Michael Stearns, Steve Roach...

This is an album made during a crucial period in South Africa’s history during which there was a palpable feeling of a slow turning towards the collapse of the apartheid state side by side with an increasingly well-organised culture of resistance through the formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and various affiliated bodies. However, as a result, there was increased pushback from the state security establishment, a turning to dirty tricks and the formation of hit squads whose members murdered and tortured many of our friends and created chaos throughout South Africa as well as neighbouring countries.

This album is situated in this political environment however it took advantage of the new do-it-yourself music technologies available at that time. Technologies that made it possible to make and release records without interference from traditional record company executives. Two musician friends of mine pooled their resources after their respective bands had broken up. Ivan Kadey (National Wake) and Lloyd Ross (Radio Rats) built an 8-track recording studio control room and fitted it out in a second hand caravan and called it Shifty. They parked it in a garage attached to the only house left in a demolished and derelict mining village near Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg.
All the work on this album was completed there, mainly after hours and mostly alone where I enjoyed an exhilarating freedom to develop a whole new set of musical skills and ideas, incorporating my love of a wide range of music I’d grown up with. Influences of 1970s progressive/kraut/and psychedelic rock combined with mbaqanga bass styles, early reggae/dub and Indian tabla rhythms. Stockhausen, early Zappa and Holgar Czukay were radio text and shredding influences, and Chris Cutler’s band Henry Cow & Art Bears helped me see a way to political expression. Mostly though was the exciting post-punk and no-wave music coming through to us from Europe and America: bands like This Heat, the Mekons, Raincoats, Sonic Youth and Pere Ubu were immensely important to me as was my reading from the period: J.M.Coetzee’s first 3 novels are strong influences on Free State Fence; the stark landscape, superstition, ritual, and sexual repression are in many of his settings. JG Ballard was a constant presence throughout that period, especially whilst living in such a surreal environment, surrounded by mine dumps, but mostly I think the whole French post-modern philosophical movement—Derrida, Foucault and of course, Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation—set out a new sense of possibilities, possible ways to express oneself, ways to think, and ways to try and analyse the political intersection of public and private life. Most important at that time was the influence of sound recordings I had made and experiences garnered from working as a sound recordist on documentary films. These financed my work and later the studio and were consistent employment throughout the 1980s. Film work also enabled me to experience much of South Africa that was hidden from most. The track Independence Day is a good example; drawn from some time spent in the rural homeland of Venda. This then was the first full length Kalahari Surfers album, completed in summer of 1984 it was taken to EMI pressing plant but rejected by the cutting engineer as being ""political, pornographic and anti religious"". Chris Cutler at Recommended Records took up the challenge and released the album through his label. He wrote the original liner note

Real special folky 7"...

An official collection of otherworldly and beautiful folk songs performed in 1980 in Canada by pupils (singers) and their teachers (instruments). Three songs are taken from a scarce privately pressed 'mysterious' Lp released under a different moniker. Two songs are unreleased songs from that session in 1980.

A Colourful Storm proudly presents a remastered first-time vinyl editions of Lone Capture Library's modern-day DIY environmental masterpiece, All Natures Most Mundane Materials. "Environmental"? While this certainly wasn't recorded for dinner party ambience nor was it commissioned by Harrods, it does document a haphazard wander through the English countryside, feeling the air and the earth, detaching oneself from confinement and attempting to make sense of it all. Its protagonist is Rory Salter, London's restless improvisor extraordinaire, who has contributed to dozens of solo and collaborative releases in an ecosystem branched from his Infant Tree private press. Under his alias Malvern Brume, he is responsible for some of the most enchanting sides of contemporary concrète that's graced our ears: dérives revealing beauty and curiosity within London's urban banality. And while we'd argue that Lone Capture Library applies this approach but seeks the peculiar within the pastoral, there also lies a certain hermetic recklessness, with its disruptive details and discarded sonic bric-a-brac.

"I'd walked from Swindon to Avebury and back, which is about a 21-mile round trip. I'd been a muppet and did the whole thing down the A4361, which is not a road suitable for walking on - there was a lot of jumping into the hedges to avoid lorries. Turned out, there was a really nice walk across the fields I could have done instead. But maybe that sums it up quite well. Instinctive and very impulsive. The day following, I was at home and recorded it in single takes, improvised and straight to the tape. There was a good deal of significance for me in walking to the stones, passing the Hackpen Horse, being in the landscape and dealing with some brain rot after being stuck in a house, anxious and depressed. There was a sense of freedom and detachment. It was all about the materials of the earth and the body and fucking the brain off for a bit - just wanting to move between places. I dunno, it's all very cliché."

Wewantsounds is delighted to continue its Algerian music reissue program with the release of Les Abranis' coveted 1983 LP, Album No. 1. Originally recorded in Paris and privately pressed by the group, the album is now being reissued for the first time. Curated by Cheb Gero, who recently compiled the Sweet Rebels Rai set for Wewantsounds, Album No. 1 is a masterful blend of Kabyle grooves, funk, and hints of reggae. Also known as Id Ed Was, the album is reissued with its original artwork, remastered audio by Colorsound Studio in Paris, and a two-page insert with new liner notes (in French and English) by journalist Rabah Mezouane.

Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987 is the first ever archival release from Repetition Repetition, the “two-man electric minimalist band” consisting of Ruben Garcia and Steve Caton hailing from Los Angeles in the mid 1980’s. Repetition Repetition’s unique blend of cosmic art-rock minimalism / maximalism was self-released across a series of cassettes produced in micro editions, and while garnering the attention and participation of luminaries such as Harold Budd, remained under the radar during the band’s existence. Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987 collects select material from across the duo’s catalog.

It was over a plate of Mexican breakfast food when Ruben Garcia and Steve Caton first told Harold Budd of Repetition Repetition and the worlds they intended to explore by respective way of synthesizers and guitars --- a rendezvous instigated by the former’s fan mail to the legendary composer. If the upstarts entered this restaurant from a one-way street of admiration, they would leave with not only Budd’s interest but, sometime later, a blessing in the wake of many hours shared by the three in Garcia’s Los Angeles home recording studio: “This is going to be difficult, but God help them, I think they’re great,” noted Budd in a USC lecture in 1985. Now several degrees removed from prior rock music aspirations, the real game was afoot.

Between 1984 and 1988, Repetition Repetition operated within something akin to the underground of the experimental underground, although even that designation perhaps overstates the case. The duo’s sparse output consisted of three cassettes self-released on Garcia’s Third Stone Music label: Repetition Repetition (1985), Lakeland (1987), and The Machinist (1987). Their songs would also be included during this period on Trance Port Tapes’ vital scene-scanning compilations assembled by A Produce. Live performances occurred with similar infrequency, but Garcia and Caton counted converts in quality over quantity, numbering among them the aforementioned Budd, a Chambers Brother, and, judging by a memorably drop-jawed reaction following a rare Repetition Repetition gig, Jackson Browne.

Likewise, critical support materialized in the form of KCRW deejays Brent Wilcox and Dean Suzuki, whose steady airplay positioned Repetition Repetition’s music amidst fearless company like Jon Hassell, Hiroshi Yoshimura, and Richard Horowitz. Yet, to hear fellow Trance Port featured players like Tom Recchion and Bruce Licher of Savage Republic tell it, Garcia and Caton moved as ghosts --- a notion more vexingly endorsed by the silence of record companies that failed to come knocking --- and therein lies an overarching truth to the work itself.

Journey to the heart of Repetition Repetition and one discovers a collective ear impossibly attuned to the hypnotic possibilities of stylistic convergence, the resulting music possessed of seamless multimodalities which beckon to a glimmering plane of the disembodied. Where Caton sought his artistic fixes at an intersection of popular genres, Garcia zoned in on the sonically spare, drawing from the same wellspring as the Enos and Rileys of his personal avant-garde pantheon, and in their coming together the two tapped into a deeper cosmic source. Synthetic walls of keyboard sound in forever states of reprise met waves of shimmering --- and at times even punishing --- guitar in reply, their soundscapes hovering convincingly between, as suggested in fittingly dualistic fashion in a press kit assembled by Garcia, such disparate sensations as bird flight in one song and oil drilling in the next.

But don’t call it a push-pull dynamic, as this was a creative partnership founded upon fluidity and organicism by way of, naturally, repetition. In contrast to, say, the Bressonian ideal of repetitive motion as a great stripping away, the concept in the hands of Garcia and Caton equated to ascendancy via continuous unfolding, a maximal route to minimalism. To be sure, their recording philosophy morphed over the course of the act’s short history, and what started as a process defined by consistent in-person interplay developed into a more isolated method formulated by Garcia, who eventually took to his own one-man bedroom-studio sessions in order to fully chart any and all potential ostinato-loaded paths which he could travel down, the Tascam-captured resonances subsequently provided to Caton as blueprints from which to take flight himself, adding layer upon layer of steel to the proceedings.

If the practice and execution changed, however, the evidence certainly didn’t rest in the results: The seamlessness remained, and, despite the brevity of their time together, so has Repetition Repetition. With this finely calibrated collection of songs in Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987, Freedom To Spend sees to it that the private worlds of Garcia and Caton can now be visited by all rather than just the count-‘em-on-both-hands lucky few whose musical endeavors or collector vocations carried them into this once-distant dimension.

Repetition Repetition’s Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987 will be released on Freedom To Spend in vinyl and digital editions on May 30, 2025. The collection includes extensive liner notes from Bill Perrine, and wil be offered alongside Over & Over, a supplemental collection of music available exclusively as a mail order cassette from Freedom To Spend and RVNG Intl.

Ecstatic’s dreamiest cadets bliss out on a new album of acoustic and electric guitar, harmonium and synth tapestries, notably nestling a Romance cameo within a genteel toggle of atmospheric pressure.

Back on (side) road after releasing quietly acclaimed kosmische gem ‘I Had too Much to Dream Last Night’ back in 2021 and the lysergic lushness of ‘Listen to the Sky’ a couple of years later, Celestial suggest a more sublime return to earth with the shine-eyed wonders of ‘I Can Hear the Grass Grow’, an album that soothes to the supine in eight shimmering parts of pearlescent melodic motifs marbling harmonious backdrops intended to tenderly comb nerves straight.

The duo take their role as seductive sandmen with a curious melodic wit that leaves something to the imagination whilst nudging it along the album’s narrative thread. A courtly flamenco lick flickers in opener ‘The Endless Stair’, one of the most restrained recordings we've heard from the childhood friends; blessed with just a little reverb and echo, as if a mic's been lowered into some dimly lit basement while Celestial puzzle out mystifying, interlocking harmonies. It hits a mid-point between John Fahey's raga-inspired Americana and Vini Reilly's rain-soaked Northern blues - the emotion throbs from every note.

Celestial's music is never too polished, giving it the fuzzy, uninhibited flair of a long-lost mail order private press and instilling it with a level of humanity that's rare to discover in the new-new age. Even when mysterious labelmate Romance turns up to ornament 'Mermaid Boulevard' with backmasked electronics, it's their low-slung Ry Cooder-esque guitar/bass that provides the narrative anchor, while the title track and spongiform analog textures of ‘Song For The rainy Season’ dial it right down to a Harmonia-via-BoC pastoral sublime. Vini Reilly and Eno’s influence is most surely felt on the swaying elegance of ‘Sweet Sleep, Angel Mild’, with a central motif that lingers on the mind long after it’s stopped playing, whilst their closing couplet perfectly resolves the cycle with a melancholic kiss-off for the ages.

One of the world’s best-selling albums, Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms, celebrates its 40th anniversary with a 1LP pressing. Re-issued in this configuration for the first time since 1985, the single-sleeve 1LP mirrors the original pressing where tracks ‘So Far Away’,’Money For Nothing’, ‘Your Latest Trick’ and ‘Why Worry’ were abridged to fit the vinyl format. Brothers In Arms spent 14 non-consecutive weeks at Number 1 in the UK Albums Chart and is the 8th best-selling album in UK chart history.

Soul Jazz Records’ new Secret Superstar Sounds brings together a wealth of incredibly catchy tunes from late-70s/early-80s British groups that you have probably never heard of! Powerpop mixed together a love of lyrical and melodically beautiful 60s pop and garage sounds, together with the energy and attitude of 70s punk. Almost completely out of kilter with the fashions of the day (punk, new wave and post-punk) these bands managed to fall between the musical cracks at almost every step of the way – leaving them practically unknown to all but a few.

Inspired by the D-I-Y messaging of bands like The Desperate Bicycles, Sniffing Glue fanzine and early UK punk labels like Stiff, Chiswick and Rough Trade, these bands chose mainly to go into a studio and make their own private press/D-I-Y records themselves – then try to work out everything else (promotion, marketing, etc) afterwards. As mainly outsiders to the mainstream music industry, and usually unable to make any inroads into it, save for sending their own record to John Peel, most of these bands fell at the first hurdle.

These records remain both beautifully crafted 3-minute musical gems, and long-lost micro-histories of an essentially hidden genre.
Featured bands here include The Squares, The Meanies, The Monitors, Plummet Airline, Tours, Gobblinz, Krypton Tunes and more. Most of these records were self-published D-I-Y releases made in very limited-editions and were often the only tracks ever released by these groups.

The in demand breakbeat hardcore debut from the reclusive Synthasy. Engineered by Jezz Wright (the man behind the men behind Liquid’s Sweet Harmony and Lemon D’s Toxic Rhythms and Pursuit Of A Vision EPs) at Blockhouse Studios, a private press white label EP was self-distributed across London record shops and received additional exposure courtesy of Entity Records distribution arm. Growing demand warranted a subsequent full artwork label repress, but the record soon evaporated becoming the thing of legend, and now commands big money.

Coming from a diverse background of equal amounts hip hop and rock, the producer behind the alias of nrl:ndr got into dance music late in his musical career. After playing in kraut-oriented bands like So Many Mammals, parts of that group reformed into the live techno outfit Tren Né, with the goal of fusing techno elements with live drums. Playing for illegal raves with a punk-like energy, nrl:ndr has cemented his relationship with his machines in service of the dance floor.

But his solo debut on blundar is quite far removed from that scene. To understand this music, one should be aware of the conditions under which it was manufactured. Reluctant to consider himself an artist in the traditional sense, nrl:ndr makes his music free of anticipation and without apparent goals. To glean into this outré musical space is like putting one's ear to the boarded up windows of the photograph that adorn the front sleeve.

The album makes extensive use of the Roland JV-2080, a sample-based synth rack from 1996 with a distinctly clean sound. Our producer dives deep into the expansion cards (labeled after genres like “Hip Hop” and “World”) for curious and sometimes cheesy samples. But he also forces the JV-2080 to do things which are not its forte, like the arduous task of programming decent kick drums.

Another technique that is testament to his experimental view on music making, is the idea of using sketches of unfinished tracks with different time signatures, and mash them together into something new - of which the results of one of these experiments can be heard on the closing track and its bilingual conversation between ambient and tribal.

Full of stunted rhythms and eerie melodies, the unclassifiable nature of the music of nrl:ndr lies somewhere in the vicinity of IDM, classical avant garde and private press synth. From the epic opening track - echoing the post-kraut drumming style of Michael Shrieve - to juggling with chopped up vocal samples and treading into almost trap-like territories on A4, he crosses into a multitude of genres without getting his hands too dirty with nostalgia.

The Pinnacle of Japanese Jazz, Finally Returns on Vinyl for the First Time!

The original (private press) was released in a very limited run of only 200 copies and has been highly sought after by collectors since the early 2000s, during the resurgence of Japanese jazz. Revered by both collectors and piano trio enthusiasts, this rare item is truly a gem. Tracks like the tense and exhilarating bop tune “Strode Road” and the wildly rhythmic and groovy “Love For Sale” are must-listens!

Recorded: March 3rd, 1978
Original Label: SMILE (SML002)
Faithfully Reproduced Original Jacket
Vinyl Edition Project/Producer: Koji Hanawa (JUDGMENT! RECORDS)

Members:
Toshiyuki Sekine (Pf)
Kei Narita (Bs)
Takashi Kurosaki (Ds)

Carrying on their longstanding dedication to the seminal output of Merzbow, Urashima returns with what is unquestionably their most ambitious release to date: “Collection 001-010”, a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl box set limited to 299 copies, gathering together the entirety of the project’s first ten releases, originally released in 1981. Encountering the band in its early incarnation of the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, raw, exposed and bristling with energy, foreshadowing numerous trajectories they would follow over the coming years, these astounding full lengths - the majority of which have never been released on vinyl - come housed in a beautifully produced, deluxe wooden box, with each LP in its own individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, and a LP-sized 32-page book containing reproductions of artworls and collages by Masami Akita, an interview conducted by Jim O'Rourke, and liner notes penned by Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore, and Akita himself, amounting to what is unquestionably one of the most historically significant releases we’re likely to encounter in 2025.

Deluxe Edition of 299 copies, remastered from the original analog tapes by Masami Akita, each LP comes in its individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, also includes a LP-sized 32-page book. ** Since its founding during the late 2000s, the Italian imprint, Urashima, has become a definitive voice in the landscape of noise. Bringing forth beautiful limited edition releases, they’ve sculpted a singular vision of one of the most vibrant and revolutionary bodies of experimental sound to have graced the globe. Among the many projects that they have supported over the decades, there has been an undeniable dedication to the output of the seminal Japanese noise outfit, Merzbow, making a significant amount of the project’s out of print back catalog available across a range of formats. Now they return with what is arguably their most stunning and ambitious release dedicated to the project to date: “Collection 001-010”, gathering the entirety of Merzbow’s first ten releases, largely privately released by the band on cassette across 1981, in a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl box set. Representing what is effectively ground zero in Japanese noise and collectively amounting to some of the most sought after releases ever produced within that movement, Urashima’s truly beautiful collection comes fully remastered by Masami Akita himself from the original tapes, presenting all but a small number in their first ever vinyl pressings, with each LP housed in its own individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, alongside a LP-sized 32-page book containing reproductions of artworks and collages by Masami Akita, an interview conducted by Jim O'Rourke, and liner notes penned by Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore and Akita himself. Towering with energy and groundbreaking creative vision, within the realms of noise and experimental music, releases don’t get more monumental or historically important than this!

Merzbow came roaring onto the Tokyo scene in 1979, and remains, to this day, one of the most prolific and aggressively forward-thinking projects in experimental music. Eventually becoming the solo vehicle for the efforts of Masami Akita, in its earliest incarnation the project was the duo of Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, taking their name from German artist Kurt Schwitters' pre-war architectural assemblage, The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau, and quickly set out to challenge entrenched notions of what music could be. Embracing technology and the machine, even in its earliest iterations, Merzbow pushed toward new territories of the extreme, arriving at a space of pure, unadulterated sonic onslaught that has continued, for over 40 years, to set the pace for the entire genre of noise, and has remained one of the movement’s most important, definitive voices, continuously laying the groundwork for countless artists who have followed in its wake.

When dealing with historical gestures, there’s an invertible aura surrounding original line-ups and early statements, and rightfully so. It is often within a band’s debut that we catch the purest glimpse of the raw energy and creative ferment that made them what they are. This is certainly the case when regarding the coveted early releases of Merzbow, capturing the emergence of the project in its form as the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani as they helped set the blue print from the then emerging movement of Japanese noise. Over the course of its nearly five decades of activity, Merzbow has always been noted for how prolific and ambitious the project is. This was no less the case in the very beginning. While they were active for roughly two years prior, in 1981 alone they issued ten self-released cassettes numerically titled “Collection 001-010”, albums which have both individually and collectively become holy grails in the realms of noise, with only two - “Collection 007” and “Collection 009” - ever receiving vinyl reissues prior to now.

As Lasse Marhaug deftly articulates in the newly commissioned liner notes for “Collection 001-010”, despite having been recorded in different location across a span of time, the sum total of Merzbow’s first ten releases might be best regarded as a single release to be listened to in the same, durational sitting, with the material standing well apart from what most came to expect from Merzbow, while foreshadowing numerous trajectories the project would take over the coming years. Not only do these recordings feature a vast array of instrumentation - tapes, acoustic and electric guitar, violin, drums, voice, recorder, organ, found sounds, clarinet, homemade and prepared instruments, a vast arsenal of effects and electronics, and piano, to only begin to scratch the surface - the majority of which would disappear from the project’s active sources of sound generation over the subsequent years, but there is a slow pacing and raw sense of openness and exposure that reveals strong connections to the avant-garde improvisations of groups like AMM, Musica Elettronica Viva, and Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, the psychedelia of groups like Taj Mahal Travellers and Flower Traveling band (both of whom Akita mentions having seen in youth within his interview with Jim O’Rourke), and rock in general - albeit in fully abstracted forms - unspooling as brittle, pointillistic, textural, raw and abrasive forms, that occasionally flirts with unexpected tonal sensibilities. As Marhaug describes it in his excellent liner notes: «Sonically, “Collection” sounds more sparse and stripped. It’s dry sounding, up-front, no reverb, and there’s less heavy low-end grime and thin on the signature frequency sweeps. Viewed in a 1981 context, musically, it’s more akin to what the LAFMS (Los Angeles Free Music Society) pool of artists were doing at that time than what was happening in industrial music... There’s a strong playfulness throughout, like the sound objects are being explored for the first time, without neither restraint nor hurry. Events are allowed to be fully examined before the music moves on, or simply cuts off. To a large degree, the music on “Collection” feels acoustic in nature, although a Electro-Harmonix ring-modulator features prominently throughout.»

Easily described as a rarely encountered revelation into the original and earlier documented studio sound of Merzbow, “Collection 001-010” collectively amounts to an engrossing sonic journey in its own right, while also allowing for important, often overlooked connections drawn from numerous other creative wellsprings, notably free jazz, underground rock, the output of European and Japanese avant-garde music, as well as Dada, Fluxus, and Mail Art, much of which, beyond the illumination made possible by the sounds, Jim O’Rourke’s fantastic interview with Akita, published in the booklet, further explores, offering great insights into the origins of Merzbow and the thinking behind the project, as well as aspects of the earliest days of Japanese noise.

After a 30-year interstellar silence, the enigmatic producer Alien Signal—pioneering alias of Italian electronic composer Alex Silvi—reemerges with Whispers from Distant Suns, a transcendent odyssey that bridges retro-futurism and modern electronica. Hailed as a magnum opus, this album transcends genre boundaries, captivating ambient purists, downtempo aficionados, and even experimental listeners with its hypnotic fusion of analog warmth and digital precision.

Cosmic Tapestry of Sound
Drawing comparisons to Vangelis’ Antarctica and Alpha—but reimagined through a 21stcentury lens—Whispers from Distant Suns marries nostalgic synth textures with cuttingedge production. Silvi’s mastery of melody shines through in tracks like “Stardust
Memories” and “Fragile Eden” where shimmering arpeggios and celestial pads drift over robotic, glitch-infused drum patterns and sparse, meditative percussion. The result is a paradox: a retro-futuristic soundscape that feels simultaneously ancient and alien, familiar yet unexplored.

Listener Testimonials
Fans and critics have flooded forums with praise:

“An auditory revelation! It’s like Vangelis met Jon Hopkins in a nebula—vintage soul with a futuristic heartbeat.”
“The textures are gorgeously cinematic. Closing your eyes, you’re adrift in a Tarkovsky film scored for the Andromeda galaxy.”

The Vinyl Experience
Pressed on heavyweight vinyl, the album’s physical release amplifies its immersive qualities. The gatefold sleeve, adorned with surrealist astrophotography and metallic
foiling, mirrors the music’s cosmic ethos. Side A leans into Balearic serenity, with sundappled grooves and aquatic synth ripples, while Side B delves into darker, more
experimental terrain—think Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works colliding with the organic rhythms of Jon Hopkins.

Maturity in Motion
This album is a testament to Silvi’s evolution. Tracks like “Seeds Of Light” and “Message from Andromeda Galaxy” showcase his refined ear for dynamics, balancing silence and sound with surgical precision. Vintage drum machines spar with glitches, while field recordings of crashing waves and interstellar static blur the line between Earth and cosmos. The closing track, “The Star Charts We Shared” crescendos into a 6-minute ambient requiem, leaving listeners suspended in a state of weightless awe.

Final Transmission
Whispers from Distant Suns is more than an album—it’s a transcendent odyssey. Spanning time, space, and the artist’s own creative evolution, this immersive work invites listeners to lose themselves in its ebb and flow. Designed for moments both intimate and expansive, its balearic-tinged atmospheres resonate equally through dawnlit Mediterranean terraces or the solitary glow of headphones in darkness. These are compositions that pulse, morph, and haunt the air long after the final note fades. A living soundscape meant to accompany life’s quiet revelations and clandestine joys—a soundtrack to your most personal moments, crafted as what the artist calls ‘private dance music.’

Tailored for the Discerning Listener
Whispers from Distant Suns is designed with the true connoisseur in mind. This album is a must-have for:

Vinyl Collectors & Audiophiles: Those who value the warmth and tactile experience of heavyweight, limited edition pressings
Electronic Ambient and Downtempo Fans: Listeners who appreciate immersive soundscapes that merge retro analog charm with modern digital innovation.
Retro-Futurism Enthusiasts: Fans of pioneering artists like Vangelis, Boards of Canada, and early Warp Records who seek music that bridges nostalgic synth textures with futuristic experimentation.
Experimental Music Explorers: Individuals drawn to sonic narratives that invite deep, contemplative listening—perfect for both introspective moments and immersive listening sessions.
This release is not just an album; it’s a curated experience for those who desire music as a multidimensional art form, merging the vintage allure of analog sound with a contemporary, cosmic vision.

For fans of: Vangelis, Biosphere, Jon Hopkins, early Warp Records.

There are records that come from the soul. No matter how primitive may be the recording techniques the musician has access to, the soul gets its way to the heart and mind of the listener. Samtvogel' is one of those records. Günter Schickert recorded that amazing piece of human greatness in 1974, using the media he had at the time, putting his brain at work to find the best way of taping everything he had to say. When I was recording Samtvogel' in 1974 I had only 2 Taperecorders. I played one track and while listening I added the second one. And so on. Four times. When I mixed all together I borrowed a 3rd taperecorder. And still added the last track to the master. I had a small mixer with 2 stereo and 1 mono but it was possible to pan tracks. No equalization. It all came out of my still living G2000 Dynacord guitar amplifier, of course valve, with no master, even the voice recorded through it. If I made a mistake in 1 track I had to repeat it from the beginning. And if while mixing I was not fast enough in changing the tape I had to start again. So it took me more than 3 months to get ready.'

Thanks to these three months of work, between June and September of 1974, 'Samtvogel' was privately issued that same year. It would later be issued on the Brain label, with a small change in the artwork -titles added to the front cover, which weren't on the original private pressing. Brain also reissued it on the label's Rock On Brain' LP series, this time with a completely different sleeve. The album contained two tracks on side one and just one on side two, and its sound has often been compared to the most explorative works of Syd Barret - however it must be pointed that Schickert did not need any mind spreading substances to allow his sounds float out of his mind & soul, they just came out in the most natural way. It will also appeal to fans of the echoed athmosferic guitar work of other kraut innovators such as Ash Ra Tempel, Manuel Götsching or A.R. & The Machines, and some may find on the vocal passages certain resemblances to Damo Suzuki on Can's 'Tago-Mago' era.

The Wah Wah reissue is housed in a quality sleeve that reproduces that of the original 1974 private pressing and features a 4 page insert with liners and photos - sound remastered at Eastside mastering Berlin. Get this bird now, before it flies away again!

There are records that come from the soul. No matter how primitive may be the recording techniques the musician has access to, the soul gets its way to the heart and mind of the listener. Samtvogel' is one of those records. Günter Schickert recorded that amazing piece of human greatness in 1974, using the media he had at the time, putting his brain at work to find the best way of taping everything he had to say. When I was recording Samtvogel' in 1974 I had only 2 Taperecorders. I played one track and while listening I added the second one. And so on. Four times. When I mixed all together I borrowed a 3rd taperecorder. And still added the last track to the master. I had a small mixer with 2 stereo and 1 mono but it was possible to pan tracks. No equalization. It all came out of my still living G2000 Dynacord guitar amplifier, of course valve, with no master, even the voice recorded through it. If I made a mistake in 1 track I had to repeat it from the beginning. And if while mixing I was not fast enough in changing the tape I had to start again. So it took me more than 3 months to get ready.'

Thanks to these three months of work, between June and September of 1974, 'Samtvogel' was privately issued that same year. It would later be issued on the Brain label, with a small change in the artwork -titles added to the front cover, which weren't on the original private pressing. Brain also reissued it on the label's Rock On Brain' LP series, this time with a completely different sleeve. The album contained two tracks on side one and just one on side two, and its sound has often been compared to the most explorative works of Syd Barret - however it must be pointed that Schickert did not need any mind spreading substances to allow his sounds float out of his mind & soul, they just came out in the most natural way. It will also appeal to fans of the echoed athmosferic guitar work of other kraut innovators such as Ash Ra Tempel, Manuel Götsching or A.R. & The Machines, and some may find on the vocal passages certain resemblances to Damo Suzuki on Can's 'Tago-Mago' era.

The Wah Wah reissue is housed in a quality sleeve that reproduces that of the original 1974 private pressing and features a 4 page insert with liners and photos - sound remastered at Eastside mastering Berlin. Get this bird now, before it flies away again!

There are records that come from the soul. No matter how primitive may be the recording techniques the musician has access to, the soul gets its way to the heart and mind of the listener. Samtvogel' is one of those records. Günter Schickert recorded that amazing piece of human greatness in 1974, using the media he had at the time, putting his brain at work to find the best way of taping everything he had to say. When I was recording Samtvogel' in 1974 I had only 2 Taperecorders. I played one track and while listening I added the second one. And so on. Four times. When I mixed all together I borrowed a 3rd taperecorder. And still added the last track to the master. I had a small mixer with 2 stereo and 1 mono but it was possible to pan tracks. No equalization. It all came out of my still living G2000 Dynacord guitar amplifier, of course valve, with no master, even the voice recorded through it. If I made a mistake in 1 track I had to repeat it from the beginning. And if while mixing I was not fast enough in changing the tape I had to start again. So it took me more than 3 months to get ready.'

Thanks to these three months of work, between June and September of 1974, 'Samtvogel' was privately issued that same year. It would later be issued on the Brain label, with a small change in the artwork -titles added to the front cover, which weren't on the original private pressing. Brain also reissued it on the label's Rock On Brain' LP series, this time with a completely different sleeve. The album contained two tracks on side one and just one on side two, and its sound has often been compared to the most explorative works of Syd Barret - however it must be pointed that Schickert did not need any mind spreading substances to allow his sounds float out of his mind & soul, they just came out in the most natural way. It will also appeal to fans of the echoed athmosferic guitar work of other kraut innovators such as Ash Ra Tempel, Manuel Götsching or A.R. & The Machines, and some may find on the vocal passages certain resemblances to Damo Suzuki on Can's 'Tago-Mago' era.

The Wah Wah reissue is housed in a quality sleeve that reproduces that of the original 1974 private pressing and features a 4 page insert with liners and photos - sound remastered at Eastside mastering Berlin. Get this bird now, before it flies away again!

Generally regarded as the first true 'new age' record, Steve Halpern's 1975 private press LP has long been in demand by collectors. In particular, the very first pressing of the album included an extraordinary long-form jazz funk track called 'Something for Every Body Suite' that was removed from subsequent versions. Eating Standing is proud to reissue Halpern's classic long-lost original version of the album, officially licensed from Halpern himself that includes this heavy groove-laden masterpiece. This is the very first ever full reissue of the first press album with full reproduction of the artwork. Original copies cost over $700 (assuming you can even find one) but now this incredible landmark album is available once more to enjoy. "Reissued for the very first time since 1975 in its original format and track listing, a legendary album that is considered a game-changer in music. Steve Halpern's landmark album 'Christening For Listening (A Soundtrack For Every Body)' is considered by many to be a crucial and defining album that pointed the way ahead. Predating the ambient/experimental work of Brian Eno, Steve Hillage and even Mort Garson's 'Plantasia', Steve Halpern's 'Christening For Listening' was the first album to explore what became known as 'new age' or ambient music, exploring the effect of tones and rhythms on the human body and mind as well as plants and other organisms. Originally issued as a private pressing in 1975, the very first issue of this album had an extraordinary extended jazz funk track on the B side, a DJ/Samplers delight – DJ Gaslamp Killer is a huge fan. This track, 'Something For Every Body Suite', was never included on any of the subsequent represses making the very first pressing incredibly rare and almost impossible to find. It's reissued here for the very first time, with full repro of the original artwork plus a Q&A by Tony Higgins with Steven Halpern himself.

Black vinyl / 505mcn paper / Insert with extensive liner notes by Tony Higgins printed on 200 gram "Shiro Eco"paper and a special Manifesto with exclusive pictures printed on 90 gram Favini recycled paper.

Personnel:
Clarence Peter - Drum
Patrick Gauthier - Piano
Jean-Jacques Avenel - Bass
Steve Potts - Sax

Notes:
We're delighted to announce the reissue one the most sought-after European private press spiritual jazz albums: The Magnetic Atmospher by Clarence Peters Quartet. Never reissued in its entirety before, The Magnetic Atmosphere is a solid album of deep, post modal spiritual jazz that will appeal to fans of the Strata East, Tribe, and Black Jazz labels.
Resident in France since the 1970s, drummer Peter recorded the album with a French rhythm section: Patrick Gauthier on piano, and Jean-Jacques Avenel on bass. On sax is American-born Steve Potts, resident in France since 1970 and, like bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel, alumni of Steve Lacy.
The Magnetic Atmospher features four killer tracks, all composed by Peter. This is an opportunity to hear a truly remarkable record and sells for hundreds of dollars on the collector circuit. Long thought to be missing in action, we tracked Clarence Peter down and secured the license, direct from the man himself. (Tony Higgins)

Rose City Band"s music is sun-kissed timeless country rock whose seemingly effortless momentum carries the joy of its creation without ignoring the darkness pervading our consciousness. Led by guitarist/vocalist Ripley Johnson, the music of Rose City Band is rooted in his love of private press records of the mid to late 70"s. The band, in addition to Johnson, features pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg and drummer John Jeffrey who enmesh a keen sense of rhythmic drive and melody with gentler, sumptuous atmospheres. Nuanced performances and interplay between players unfurl like desert flowers splashing color onto an arid landscape. The ensemble"s buoyant moments still glide with ease, but there is room to revel in respite of the shade of a dark cloud. Across the album, Johnson"s tasteful guitar interjections and soothing voice are met in kind with the versatile playing of Walker, Hasenberg, and Jeffery, with special guest performances by synthesist/vocalist, Sanae Yamada. Album closer "The Walls" perfectly captures the band"s explorative and expansive songs, Hasenberg"s soulful organ driving the album to an emotionally cathartic conclusion. Throughout his prolific career with Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo and now Rose City Band, Johnson"s music has consistently centered around exploration and discovery. Sol Y Sombra imbues his penchant for space and resplendent tonality with a denser amalgam of his influences through a delicate balance of the somber and the serene, of subtle evolutions and familiar sounds, Sol Y Sombra makes for a holistically joyous experience, finding solace in both sun and shade.

Rose City Band"s music is sun-kissed timeless country rock whose seemingly effortless momentum carries the joy of its creation without ignoring the darkness pervading our consciousness. Led by guitarist/vocalist Ripley Johnson, the music of Rose City Band is rooted in his love of private press records of the mid to late 70"s. The band, in addition to Johnson, features pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg and drummer John Jeffrey who enmesh a keen sense of rhythmic drive and melody with gentler, sumptuous atmospheres. Nuanced performances and interplay between players unfurl like desert flowers splashing color onto an arid landscape. The ensemble"s buoyant moments still glide with ease, but there is room to revel in respite of the shade of a dark cloud. Across the album, Johnson"s tasteful guitar interjections and soothing voice are met in kind with the versatile playing of Walker, Hasenberg, and Jeffery, with special guest performances by synthesist/vocalist, Sanae Yamada. Album closer "The Walls" perfectly captures the band"s explorative and expansive songs, Hasenberg"s soulful organ driving the album to an emotionally cathartic conclusion. Throughout his prolific career with Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo and now Rose City Band, Johnson"s music has consistently centered around exploration and discovery. Sol Y Sombra imbues his penchant for space and resplendent tonality with a denser amalgam of his influences through a delicate balance of the somber and the serene, of subtle evolutions and familiar sounds, Sol Y Sombra makes for a holistically joyous experience, finding solace in both sun and shade.