LP, Special partial glossy print

Electronica I IDM I Leftfield
tracklist:
1. Afterimage
2. Isolation Street
3. Ghostmantra
4. People Fall Away
5. Tears In Rain
6. Floe
7. Pleasure System
8. A Forgotten Purpose
9. Cloud Mirror

short info:
Following on from 2018’s Echo Principle LP, the Pleasure System full length sees Steve Hyland return to the crisp
drum programming and colorful IDM soundscapes that dominated his debut on the FILM label. A veteran of
music production back in the driving seat after a long hiatus, Hyland’s approach on this latest offering draws on
the isolation of modern life for inspiration. Pleasure System sees the British artist ruminating on his place in the
world, and the mournful synth flourishes and washed-out drums, paired with more hopeful moments of
electronic abstraction communicate a delicate yin and yang, constantly working against one another to find
balance. More

LP, 2022 REPRESS EDITION, ORIGINAL ART

played by:
Gregor Schwellenbach /Hauschka/ Daniel Brauer/ Paul Frick (both of Brandt Brauer Frick) Erol Sarp / Lukas Vogel (both of Grandbrothers) / John Kameel Farah

Tracklist:
1. Steve Reich "Six Pianos" 22:09 mins
2. Terry Riley "Study #1" 19:50 mins

Info:
After the widely noticed performance at the "Acht Brücken Festival 2016" at Cologne's Philharmonic Hall, Gregor Schwellenbach, Hauschka, Erol Sarp (of "Grandbrothers"), Daniel Brandt, Paul Frick (both of "Brandt Brauer Frick") and John Kameel Farah will be releasing their interpretation of Steve Reich's "Six Pianos" as a studio recording via FILM. The re-recording of this piece is an interpretation of Reich's composition but still far more than just that - it is a modern approach to his idea behind it.
The basic idea came up at the beginning of the 70s at "The Baldwin Piano & Organ Company" in New York. During a rehearsal phase Steve Reich spent in this very piano store, the idea emerged of writing a composition for all the grand pianos available to him at the company. By the time of the finished piece, the actual number of pianos had settled down to six, whereof "Six Pianos" developed in 1973.
On the occasion of his 80th birthday, the six pianists declare their love to Steve Reich and his composition with this release. Shaped by electronic club music as well as their classical education, they form "Six Pianos" in dignified modernity and top it off with today's sound esthetics and technical recording possibilities.
What you will be hearing is not the recording from the "Kölner Philharmonie" (Cologne Philharmonics) but the ensemble play of six different grand pianos in six different locations, throughout Germany. Each pianist performed his part on his piano using his typical studio equipment and passed the recording over to the next one. Thus the six characteristic and individual timbres of the performers overlay to create the overall picture - "Six Pianos" the way it should be looked at in 2016.
"Pianists are soloists and lone warriors by nature", as Gregor Schwellenbach once said. But the initiator not only won over solo artists to the greatest possible extent such as Hauschka or John Kameel Farah but also musicians from "Brandt Brauer Frick" and "Grandbrothers" as well as their ensemble partners: Jan Brauer mixed "Six Pianos" in the studio while Lukas Vogel provided delays for the b-side.
"Keyboard Study #1" by Terry Riley is a worthy b-side opposed to Reich's composition. The piece is kind of a building set of ever lengthening, repetitive patterns played against each other with the right and left hand displaced. The composition proposes various possible combinations for the performer to choose from and repeat at will. And what the performers have chosen proves Gregor Schwellenbach's assumption: "Especially Terry Riley's and Steve Reich's music are open doors for pianists socialized by pop music and their audience."



More

LP, Special partial glossy print

Electronica I IDM I Leftfield
tracklist:
1. Afterimage
2. Isolation Street
3. Ghostmantra
4. People Fall Away
5. Tears In Rain
6. Floe
7. Pleasure System
8. A Forgotten Purpose
9. Cloud Mirror

short info:
Following on from 2018’s Echo Principle LP, the Pleasure System full length sees Steve Hyland return to the crisp
drum programming and colorful IDM soundscapes that dominated his debut on the FILM label. A veteran of
music production back in the driving seat after a long hiatus, Hyland’s approach on this latest offering draws on
the isolation of modern life for inspiration. Pleasure System sees the British artist ruminating on his place in the
world, and the mournful synth flourishes and washed-out drums, paired with more hopeful moments of
electronic abstraction communicate a delicate yin and yang, constantly working against one another to find
balance. More

2022 RE PRESS EDITION

Special remarks : 2x12", high gloss photo like gatefold sleeve

Tracklist:
A
1. Prologue
2. Wuppertal
3. Naive Ride
B
4. Arctica
5. Rotor
6. Ezra was Right
C
7. Studie V
8. Newton's Cradle
9. 5 gegen 1
D
10. Neon
11. Start from Innocence
12. Ghost Clock

Shortinfo:
Following their debut EP with "Ezra Was Right" and support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Grandbrothers are presenting their debut album "Dilation". Twelve modern Experimental / Ambient / Piano pieces, whose sounds are generated completely out of a grand piano using small electromagnetic hammers.
Grandbrothers are Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel. After meeting at university in Dusseldorf, Erol and Lukas formed Grandbrothers to tie together their respective musical backgrounds and disciplines: Erol is a trained jazz pianist, while by day Lukas constructs synthesizers at Access Music. Together, they create a sound that combines classical composition with modern, experimental production and sound design.

Their first song, 'Ezra Was Right', earned an early supporter in the esteemed Gilles Peterson, who included the track on his Bubblers 10 compilation and played it numerous times on his Worldwide radio show for BBC Radio 6 Music, with the song eventually being voted #7 by listeners in his end-of-year poll in 2013. A full EP on FILM followed - backed by remixes from legendary Manchester DJ Greg Wilson, Optimo's JD Twitch, and Kim Brown - which sold out its initial run within ten days.

Now, Grandbrothers present their debut album, Dilation. The product of two years work, Dilation builds on some of the ideas established on 'Ezra Was Right' while exploring further elements of minimalism, ambient music, IDM, and techno. Tracks start as repeated two or three note patterns, which gradually develop into sweeping, cinematic soundscapes, recalling the structural and rhythmic qualities club music as much as it does the work of a composer like Steve Reich, as well as Ryuichi Sakamoto's collaborations with Alva Noto.

Surprisingly, there are no synthetic sounds on Dilation: Erol and Lukas deliberately restrict themselves to the sounds of the grand piano across the album. "We wanted to make modern-sounding music using classical instruments," Lukas explains, "Instruments with a lot of history."

To achieve this modern sound, Lukas developed an unusual system for playing the piano. Drawing on his technical background, he created a series of electromechanical hammers that could be controlled via laptop (on software that he designed himself, no less) to 'play' the piano. This process allowed the duo to discover new, previously unknown sounds - sounds that couldn't be achieved through conventional playing - which give the record its unique sonic qualities.

"'Dilation' is a physical term for expansion and widening," Erol says, "We see the project as an experiment: how far you can go with a piano? How much you can get out of it, soundwise?"

With further manipulation using loops, effects, and amplification, Dilation is an album that covers an extraordinary range of sounds despite coming from such a small, unorthodox setup.

Classical, yet forward-thinking; expressive and emotional, yet with one foot on the dancefloor, Dilation is set to be an early highlight of 2015 and sure to put Grandbrothers on the radar for the future.


More

Special remarks :2 LP Gatefold,Relief Varnish, 2022 Repress Edition, Orig. Art

Tracklist LP:
A1: 9 Kurrytee [MIDI_2_CV]
A2: Smit
A3: Day Aft8r [The_Greyz]
B1: Poly_Ana Summers [Schoolyard Surph Beat]
B2: Carniblurr.Lane 6
B3: Mixolydian Transition 18
C1: Kurzweil Dame
C2: BouheD Trot
C3: [Take1]
D1: Triangulate Dither [Night More Sleepy Version]
D2: Frikandel [The End Bit]
D3: Yamaha Hills [Edit]
D4: Late Hither [Ma8ema8mati7s Afsxissor Nap Version]

short Info:

Brainwaltzera's debut LP "Poly-ana" follows quickly on the heels of the producer's Aescoba EP - also released this year via FILM.

Across thirteen tracks of both previously released material and fresh excursions into the artist's world, Brainwaltzera explores sounds ranging from luscious, downtempo grooves and expertly reduced braindance cuts with nods to early 90's experimental IDM to harder, more caustic outings - all bound together by a recurring theme of otherworldly ambience.

Taking its name from a variety of sources dear to the artist, including polyphonic analogue synthesizers and the Pol-lyanna Principle itself - a theory that suggests individuals recall pleasurable experience more acutely than displeasing ones - the title represents a meeting point in the artistic process between creative method and conceptual choices.

Production techniques range from more traditional hardware synthesis to the incorporation of a modified dot matrix printer acting as a modulation source for MIDI parameters. Sample sources include VHS material from the produ-cer's own childhood and ambient Bullet Train samples from an on-the-fly production session traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto.

According to the enigmatic producer, memory and its fundamental role in the human experience is one of the central themes of the record. While the artist's own experiences shaped the sound of the record, there is no attempt to impose them on the listener through blatant exposition. This is also evident in the artwork, which provides an identity and bold referential outline but, much like a coloring book, leaves the colors, tones and shades to others.

In the same vein, the concept suggests that particular stimuli such as sound or scent, can transport an individual back to a particular point in their life. Scent has long been identified as the most efficient agent for this phenomenon, pro-viding perhaps the most visceral form of "braintravel". With this in mind, a unique fragrance was engineered, from the ground up, by creative director Mario Lombardo's Atelier Oblique brand, exclusively for the album's physical release. This was designed to act as a vehicle to assist the listener in retaining the first experience of hearing the record and to act as a future trigger - transporting the individual back to that moment.

Brainwaltzera's work has quickly found plaudits amongst a host of industry tastemakers and artists alike - not least Aphex Twin himself, who has appeared sporadically online with comments praising the music via his now infamous user18081971 Soundcloud account. BBC6's Tom Ravenscroft has already named the Aescoba EP amongst his Best of 2017 So Far, whilst underground heavyweights Eclair Fifi (LuckyMe) and Oliver Hafenbauer (Live At Robert Johnson) have declared themselves fans.

Mature and wonderfully executed, the Poly-ana LP represents some of the finest recent work within the genre, and yet another noteworthy addition to the FILM discography.


FUTURE.IS.LISTENING.MUSIC
More

2LP & Handmade Sleeve

Tracklist:

A1. Disaster Protocol
A2. Saragossa Disambiguation
A3/4. the Daisy Chain - Adults


B1. Liminal States
B2. Junkie Foxtrot
B3. Dr Manhattan


C1. The 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
C2. Hot White Hot Black
C3. Autoimmune
C4. Dry Heaving


D1. A Fine, New Mother Now
D2. Snake Doctors
D3. SuperCell
D4. Slither

FILM Recordings will release the debut LP from Denial of Service.

The album follows up EP's Sensou (2015), and more recently Contour & Shape (2017) - but marks the producer's most expansive release on the label thus far by some margin. Clocking in at 15 tracks, the lengthy opus draws from the same palette found on previous work - drum machine driven, heavily mutated Electro and IDM sit alongside low slung Techno cuts and arpeggiated EBM references. As ever, the production is stunning - crisp and plosive, as much a record for the club as it is a tempered headphone experience; whilst the mood channels that same dank, claustrophobic energy found on previous missives.

As a body of work, the LP displays the distinctive touch of a production veteran. The transformative shifts in structure on opener A Fine, New Mother Now belie a kind of boldness found less often across the contemporary electronic music landscape; and the drum programming on IDM-leaning explorations Autoimmune & Supercell bear the hallmarks of a perfectionist with time on his hands and in full control of his art. Space and the placement of sonic components plays a huge role in the artist's work and the 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch displays this canny knack for generating both textural, wide angle soundscapes whilst maintaining that wrought-iron edge to drums and percussive elements - even more fervent, noisy compositions like Dr Manahattan manage to keep hold of this remarkable balance. It's impressive stuff, a fine and well worked meeting point between artistic vision and engineering prowess.

An elongated discussion, no doubt - but worth hearing every word. Each twist and bend, however sharp, remains carefully placed and beautifully recorded. Dryer works Slither & Junkie Foxtrot towards the LP finish offer a less introspective, more hard hitting angle to the work, and by the time the listener arrives at dual closer the Daisy Chain - Adults - they're ready for its heady catharsis.

The debut album from Denial of Service is a trip, and the line between club space and home listening environment is decidedly blurred - an emotive exploration of true psychedelic Electronica, delivered direct from the source.
More

CD!
Special remarks :2 LP Gatefold,Scented,Relief Varnish

Tracklist LP:
A1: kurrytee [MIDI_2_CV]
A2: smit
A3: day aft8r [the_greyz]
B1: poly_ana summers [schoolyard surph beat]
B2: carniblurr.lane 6
B3: mixolydian transition 18
C1: Kurzweil Dame
C2: bouheD trot
C3: [take1]
D1: triangulate Dither [night more sleepy version]
D2: frikandel [the end bit]
D3: yamaha Hills [edit]
D4: late Hither [ma8ema8mati7s afsxissor nap version]

short Info:

Brainwaltzera's debut LP "Poly-ana" follows quickly on the heels of the producer's Aescoba EP - also released this year via FILM.

Across thirteen tracks of both previously released material and fresh excursions into the artist's world, Brainwaltzera explores sounds ranging from luscious, downtempo grooves and expertly reduced braindance cuts with nods to early 90's experimental IDM to harder, more caustic outings - all bound together by a recurring theme of otherworldly ambience.

Taking its name from a variety of sources dear to the artist, including polyphonic analogue synthesizers and the Pol-lyanna Principle itself - a theory that suggests individuals recall pleasurable experience more acutely than displeasing ones - the title represents a meeting point in the artistic process between creative method and conceptual choices.

Production techniques range from more traditional hardware synthesis to the incorporation of a modified dot matrix printer acting as a modulation source for MIDI parameters. Sample sources include VHS material from the produ-cer's own childhood and ambient Bullet Train samples from an on-the-fly production session traveling from Tokyo to Kyoto.

According to the enigmatic producer, memory and its fundamental role in the human experience is one of the central themes of the record. While the artist's own experiences shaped the sound of the record, there is no attempt to impose them on the listener through blatant exposition. This is also evident in the artwork, which provides an identity and bold referential outline but, much like a coloring book, leaves the colors, tones and shades to others.

In the same vein, the concept suggests that particular stimuli such as sound or scent, can transport an individual back to a particular point in their life. Scent has long been identified as the most efficient agent for this phenomenon, pro-viding perhaps the most visceral form of "braintravel". With this in mind, a unique fragrance was engineered, from the ground up, by creative director Mario Lombardo's Atelier Oblique brand, exclusively for the album's physical release. This was designed to act as a vehicle to assist the listener in retaining the first experience of hearing the record and to act as a future trigger - transporting the individual back to that moment.

Brainwaltzera's work has quickly found plaudits amongst a host of industry tastemakers and artists alike - not least Aphex Twin himself, who has appeared sporadically online with comments praising the music via his now infamous user18081971 Soundcloud account. BBC6's Tom Ravenscroft has already named the Aescoba EP amongst his Best of 2017 So Far, whilst underground heavyweights Eclair Fifi (LuckyMe) and Oliver Hafenbauer (Live At Robert Johnson) have declared themselves fans.

Mature and wonderfully executed, the Poly-ana LP represents some of the finest recent work within the genre, and yet another noteworthy addition to the FILM discography.


FUTURE.IS.LISTENING.MUSIC
More

CD Digipack, special print.

played by:
Gregor Schwellenbach /Hauscka/ Daniel Brauer/ Paul Frick (both of Brandt Brauer Frick) Erol Sarp / Lukas Vogel (both of Grandbrothers) / John Kameel Farah

Tracklist:
1. Steve Reich "Six Pianos" 22:09 mins
2. Terry Riley "Study #1" 19:50 mins

Info:
After the widely noticed performance at the "Acht Brücken Festival 2016" at Cologne's Philharmonic Hall, Gregor Schwellenbach, Hauschka, Erol Sarp (of "Grandbrothers"), Daniel Brandt, Paul Frick (both of "Brandt Brauer Frick") and John Kameel Farah will be releasing their interpretation of Steve Reich's "Six Pianos" as a studio recording via FILM. The re-recording of this piece is an interpretation of Reich's composition but still far more than just that - it is a modern approach to his idea behind it.
The basic idea came up at the beginning of the 70s at "The Baldwin Piano & Organ Company" in New York. During a rehearsal phase Steve Reich spent in this very piano store, the idea emerged of writing a composition for all the grand pianos available to him at the company. By the time of the finished piece, the actual number of pianos had settled down to six, whereof "Six Pianos" developed in 1973.
On the occasion of his 80th birthday, the six pianists declare their love to Steve Reich and his composition with this release. Shaped by electronic club music as well as their classical education, they form "Six Pianos" in dignified modernity and top it off with today's sound esthetics and technical recording possibilities.
What you will be hearing is not the recording from the "Kölner Philharmonie" (Cologne Philharmonics) but the ensemble play of six different grand pianos in six different locations, throughout Germany. Each pianist performed his part on his piano using his typical studio equipment and passed the recording over to the next one. Thus the six characteristic and individual timbres of the performers overlay to create the overall picture - "Six Pianos" the way it should be looked at in 2016.
"Pianists are soloists and lone warriors by nature", as Gregor Schwellenbach once said. But the initiator not only won over solo artists to the greatest possible extent such as Hauschka or John Kameel Farah but also musicians from "Brandt Brauer Frick" and "Grandbrothers" as well as their ensemble partners: Jan Brauer mixed "Six Pianos" in the studio while Lukas Vogel provided delays for the b-side.
"Keyboard Study #1" by Terry Riley is a worthy b-side opposed to Reich's composition. The piece is kind of a building set of ever lengthening, repetitive patterns played against each other with the right and left hand displaced. The composition proposes various possible combinations for the performer to choose from and repeat at will. And what the performers have chosen proves Gregor Schwellenbach's assumption: "Especially Terry Riley's and Steve Reich's music are open doors for pianists socialized by pop music and their audience."



More

Special remarks : 180g vinyl, glow in the dark cover

Tracklist:
A: sensou v3
B: the element of crime

Ok, we are quite slow on releasing records, but here is our next release on FILM. We stumbled upon the artist on a reseach for a music video - in the end we didn`t discover a video director, but denial.of.service, an artist in many fields including music, video and performance art. as he ist active since the early eighties, he was involved in numerous projects, doing productions, remixes and videos for and with artists like david bowie, attrition extrawelt and DAF….. If you take a closer look on his artistic activity since the early 80ies ever then you will quickly realize there is a whole universe to uncover foald from around this artist. Our suggestion: Start with this fine EP, featuring a hidden secret artwork that unveils in the dark.
More

Releasedate 23.2.2015
UPC 827170146525

Special remarks :CD Digipack , high gloss photo like print

Tracklist:
1. Prologue / 2. Wuppertal / 3. Naive Rider / 4. Arctica / 5. Rotor / 6. Ezra was Right / 7. Studie V / 8. Newton's Cradle / 9. 5 gegen 1 / 10. Neon / 11. Start from Innocence / 12. Ghost Clock

Shortinfo:
Following their debut EP with "Ezra Was Right" and support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Grandbrothers are presenting their debut album "Dilation". Twelve modern Experimental / Ambient / Piano pieces, whose sounds are generated completely out of a grand piano using small electromagnetic hammers.
Grandbrothers are Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel. After meeting at university in Dusseldorf, Erol and Lukas formed Grandbrothers to tie together their respective musical backgrounds and disciplines: Erol is a trained jazz pianist, while by day Lukas constructs synthesizers at Access Music. Together, they create a sound that combines classical composition with modern, experimental production and sound design.

Their first song, 'Ezra Was Right', earned an early supporter in the esteemed Gilles Peterson, who included the track on his Bubblers 10 compilation and played it numerous times on his Worldwide radio show for BBC Radio 6 Music, with the song eventually being voted #7 by listeners in his end-of-year poll in 2013. A full EP on FILM followed - backed by remixes from legendary Manchester DJ Greg Wilson, Optimo's JD Twitch, and Kim Brown - which sold out its initial run within ten days.

Now, Grandbrothers present their debut album, Dilation. The product of two years work, Dilation builds on some of the ideas established on 'Ezra Was Right' while exploring further elements of minimalism, ambient music, IDM, and techno. Tracks start as repeated two or three note patterns, which gradually develop into sweeping, cinematic soundscapes, recalling the structural and rhythmic qualities club music as much as it does the work of a composer like Steve Reich, as well as Ryuichi Sakamoto's collaborations with Alva Noto.

Surprisingly, there are no synthetic sounds on Dilation: Erol and Lukas deliberately restrict themselves to the sounds of the grand piano across the album. "We wanted to make modern-sounding music using classical instruments," Lukas explains, "Instruments with a lot of history."

To achieve this modern sound, Lukas developed an unusual system for playing the piano. Drawing on his technical background, he created a series of electromechanical hammers that could be controlled via laptop (on software that he designed himself, no less) to 'play' the piano. This process allowed the duo to discover new, previously unknown sounds - sounds that couldn't be achieved through conventional playing - which give the record its unique sonic qualities.

"'Dilation' is a physical term for expansion and widening," Erol says, "We see the project as an experiment: how far you can go with a piano? How much you can get out of it, soundwise?"

With further manipulation using loops, effects, and amplification, Dilation is an album that covers an extraordinary range of sounds despite coming from such a small, unorthodox setup.
Classical, yet forward-thinking; expressive and emotional, yet with one foot on the dancefloor, Dilation is set to be an early highlight of 2015 and sure to put Grandbrothers on the radar for the future.


More

Release : 14.07.20134
UPC: 827170554160

Special remarks : 12" with printed deluxe sleeve , remixes by South Loundon Ordnance, Musk, Lounge 44

Tracklist
A1: The Rhythm Odyssey And Knights Of Olde "Intro Theme" (Original)
A2: The Rhythm Odyssey And Knights Of Olde "Intro Theme" (MUSK Remix)
B1: The Rhythm Odyssey And Knights Of Olde "Intro Theme" (South Loundon Ordnance Remix)
B2: The Rhythm Odyssey And Knights Of Olde "Intro Theme" ( Lounge 44 Original)

Shortinfo:
Second installment from freshly launched FILM label comes from The Rhythm Odyssey and
Knights Of Olde also known as Stevie Kotey and Dean Meredith. Together they created the powerful and bass heavy original "Intro Theme". Hotflush Artist South London Ordnance delivers a darker approach of the track, while MUSK takes
the track into the peaktime. Last but not least Uncanny Valleys Lounge44 comes up with a decent deep house remix.

More

Releasedate 3.2.2014
UPC 827170135420

Tracklisting:
A1 Ezra Was Right
A2 Notbrause
B1 Ezra Was Right (Kim Brown Iron Rave Remix)
B2 Ezra Was Right (Greg Wilson & Derek Kaye Remix)

Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel are Grandbrothers.
All their music is composed and recorded on the grand piano. Erol plays the keys, while Lukas creates the beat by using small self-made and programmed hammers that hit the grand piano. He captures these sounds on the computer, then manipulates and loops them.
With this setup they create highly analogue cinematic sound-scapes and tracks made for the dancefloor. Grandbrothers track ‘Ezra Was Right’ has become a part of Gilles Peterson’s recent DJ sets and his radio show ‘Worldwide’ on BBC. Peterson also nominated the song for his ‘track of the year 2013’ award. While ‘Ezra Was Right’ is more downbeat, ’Notbrause’ is highly suitable to be mixed straight into a proper house set. The EP comes with an ‘Ezra Was Right’ remix by the edit-master Greg Wilson and his partner Derek Kaye.
Additional remixes were contributed by Berlin’s finest Kim Brown and Glasgow underground legend JD Twitch from Optimo.


More

- Beautiful 1 LP 33rpm Cut Re-Edition
- 33 rpm LP mastercut by Emil Berliner

*** TERRITORY RESTRICTION - NO SALES TO JAPAN ***

Tracklisting:
1. Mr. Henri Rousseau's Dream
2. Crossing
3. Trompe-l'œil
4. Catastrophe E

Info


WRWTFWW & Palto Flats Records are ecstatic to announce the highly-anticipated reissue of Japanese percussionist Midori Takada's sought after and timeless ambient / minimal album "Through The Looking Glass", originally released in 1983 by RCA Japan.

Considered a Holy Grail of Japanese music by many, "Through The Looking Glass" is Midori Takada's first solo endeavor, a captivating four-song suite capturing her deep quests into traditional African and Asian percussive language and exploring contemplative ambient sounds with an admirably precise use of marimba. The result is alternatively ethereal and vibrant, always precise and mesmerizing, and makes for an atmospheric masterpiece and an unparalleled sonic and spiritual experience.

The fully licensed reissue is available as a single 33rpm LP and a limited 45rpm DLP, both cut directly from the original studio reels (AAA), at Emil Berliner (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon) for the 45rpm DLP, and at the equally famous Frankfurter SST Studio for the LP. It is also available in CD format for the first time. All versions come with extensive liner notes.

Bio

Midori Takada is a composer, multi percussionist, and theater artist renowned in Japanese vanguard circles. She will tour Europe this year.

Midori released two solo albums: "Through The Looking Glass" and "Tree Of Life" and wrote music for Tadashi Suzuki's theater plays. Her hypnotic, minimalist music is based in the concept of coherence between sound and the human body. She performs solo on marimba and other percussion instruments.

She debuted on the scene of Berlin Philharmonic, performing with the RIAS Symphonie-Orchester Berlin just after graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1974. She continued her career with solo concerts in Japan and abroad.

In the 1980s Midori began to explore the traditional music of Asia and Africa. Her fascination resulted in joint projects with Kakraba Lobi from Ghana, Lamine Konte from Senegal, Farafina Band from Burkina Faso, and Korean musicians: zither player Chi Seong-Ja, flute player Won-Il, and saxophone player Kang Tae-Hwan. She also led Mkwaju Ensemble's innovative percussion project and still performs with free-jazz band Ton-Klami with Kang Tae-Hwan and jazz pianist Masahiko Satoh.

In the past 20 years, Midori Takada spent more time in theaters than in concert halls - composing and performing live music for theater. She regularly works with Tadashi Suzuki and his Suzuki Company of Toga on their adaptations of "Electra" and "King Lear".

Takada's compositions have a remarkable way of affecting the imagination. Her minimalist, contemplative music is filled with the concept of infinity and reminds us of a moon voyage, falling stars, a journey into the ocean, or a walk in the garden. The trans melodies, initially simple, begin to loop and splinter, their rhythm breaking and thickening, slowly drawing the listener into another reality.

Every live performance Midori Takada gives is unique and prepared especially for that occasion.


More

non-exclusive
2LP R&S and Apollo Records present an official vinyl repress of this most classicand timeless album The vinyl uses the 2013 re-masters made from original DAT tapes cut by Matt Colton and presented in original artwork.

All time favourite Aphex Twin Album. Nice and accesible experimental techno. Originally released in 1992. What else could be said here, we finally are stocking copies on arguably the most important and influential electronic album of album time, Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85–92. You will always need this!!!

Tracks: A1 Xtal
A2 Tha
A3 Pulsewidth
B1 Ageispolis
B2 i
B3 Green Calx
B4 Heliosphan
C1 We Are The Music Makers
C2 Schottkey 7th Path
C3 Ptolemy
D1 Hedphelym
D2 Delphium
D3 Actium

More

2023 repress

Format: LP

Tracklist

A1. Motorway Acid
A2. Microdose Mondays
A3. London Stock

B1. Meanwhile… In The Smoking Area
B2. Thursday
B3. Retracted
B4. Praha

Release Info:
Two visionary explorers of the acid and dub intersection team up for a seven track LP In The Afterworld on Acid Test.

Om Unit and TM404 have both been researching production and compositional elements in the crosshairs of dub and acid for the last few years - Om Unit most notably with his Acid Dub Studies 1 & 2, and TM404 with his Acidub album in particular.

Om Unit has been a longtime fan of TM404’s use of the TB-303 and the deconstructed space he brings to the house and techno template. Meanwhile Om Unit’s own leaning towards breaks and reggae instrumentation has offered a different approach to the acid sound they both love so much. So an LP with Acid Test seemed the perfect opportunity to combine those approaches and see what kind of mutations could be discovered. The result is a primordial soup that is in parts acid, dub, breaks and ambient, full of spaced-out synths and psychedelic bass, where the pair enjoyed building tracks with a feel for where the music wanted to go, irrespective of stylistic constraints.

Rolling opener Motorway Acid sets the pace high and strong, conjuring both wide open spaces and fast-paced travel at the same time, with weightless pads, stroboscopic breaks and a mighty 303 riff that can teleport you to the middle of a foggy dancefloor. Microdose Mondays on the other hand, slows the tempo down and veers into cosmic territory, with perfectly dubbed drum rolls and burbling squelch. But it’s London Stock that kicks the album into hyperspace, finding its futuristic steppers groove somewhere in the answer to the hypothetical question ‘what if Shaka had produced Stingray?’

Speaking of underwater electronics, Meanwhile In The Smoking Area delves deep into submarine territory, delivering the kind of bass weight and sonar acid signals you’d need a diver’s suit for. It’s a vibe that’s continued on the tracks Thursday and Refracted, and speaks to the record's title - otherworldly, dreamy bass meditations that aren’t of this realm. The album closes out with Praha, a pacey yet ambient vista of warm wide synths, layers of 303, and dub echoes that sound like the machines are slowly coming to life.

It’s in this altered state that the album resides, somewhere between worlds and styles, emerging out of the space around the TB-303 that Om Unit and TM404 have created, with their open-minded approach to the music and to this collaboration. Free the 303!

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2024 Repress


- NO SALES TO JAPAN -
Regular Offcial Authorised Vinyl Version, Original Soundtrack, 350g Sleeve, Black Inner, Sticker, 12" 140g Vinyl
- The first ever OFFICIAL vinyl release of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's legendary science fiction anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995).
- LP cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios, official Ghost in the Shell artwork

Tracklisting LP :
A1 ?I - Making Of Cyborg
A2 Ghosthack
A3 Puppetmaster
A4 Virtual Crime
A5 ?II - Ghost City
B1 Access
B2 Nightstalker
B3 Floating Museum
B4 Ghostdive
B5 ?III - Reincarnation

We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records is thrilled and honored to announce the first ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's critically acclaimed and all around legendary science fiction anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow's groundbreaking manga series of the same name.

Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon), the album comes as a LP accompanied by a bonus one-sided 7" housed in official Ghost in the Shell artwork sleeve with silver gilt printing and a Japanese obi, and contains extensive 24-page liner notes.

The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan's most celebrated soundtrack composers, alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ry?ichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong films Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai's compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme "Making of Cyborg", Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a timeless and unparalleled soundtrack that admirably echoes the film's musings on the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world.

Ghost in the Shell is widely considered one of the best anime films of all time and its influence has been felt in the work of numerous movie directors, including James Cameron (Avatar), the Wachowskis (The Matrix), and Steven Spielberg (AI: Artificial Intelligence).
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Territories: WORLD

Genre: Percussion, Ambient, Environmental, Minimalism

LP: 180g Half Speed Mastered Vinyl, Heavy 350gsm Inside Out Sleeve, Sticker


Tracklisting LP
A1. Love Song Of Urfa
A2. Tan Tejah
A3. Tayurani
A4. Wa-Na-Imba
B1. Modoki 1 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B2. Awase 1 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B3. Yukiai (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B4. Awase 2 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B5. Orifusi (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B6. Modoki 2 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B7. Awase 3 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B8. Usuyo (Futa-Aya-Asobi)

Info

WRWTFWW Records is proud to announce the worldwide reissue of Midori Takada’s solo album from 1999, Tree of Life, available on vinyl for the first time ever in a new audiophile mix by the Japanese percussionist herself, and in full half-speed-mastered glory. The 180g LP comes in a heavy sleeve with a beautiful design by Kohei Sugiura. Tree of Life is also available in CD (digipack) and digital formats.

Originally recorded in September 1998 at legendary Ginza (Tokyo) studio Onkio Haus (founded in 1974 and where Ryuichi Sakamoto’s "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" and many more were recorded) and released on CD only for the Japan market in 1999, Tree of Life is Midori Takada’s best kept secret, a lost gem of minimalism and percussive ambient. The album is separated in two parts, the first one finds Takada exploring her trademark environmental soundscapes with precise mastery of marimba, drums, and bells, notably on the magnificent fan-favorite "Love Song Of Urfa". The second half is a collaboration with Chinese virtuoso Erhu player Jiang Jian Hua, allowing Midori Takada to unveil new layers of her artistic mind with a slightly more theatrical approach and a beautiful crystallization of complex simplicity.

The entire album was given a fresh new audiophile mix by Midori Takada herself and was mastered at Emil Berliner Studios, with half speed cutting for the vinyl version, to ensure an audio presentation aligned with the Japanese pioneer’s vision.

This Tree of Life reissue follows two newly recorded Midori Takada albums, Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter and You Who Are Leaving To Nirvana, both available on WRWTFWW Records, along with her 1983 masterpiece, Through The Looking Glass.


Points of interests

- For fans of environmental, ambient, percussion, minimalism, marimba, erhu, Midori Takada, Satoshi Ashikawa, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Through The Looking Glass, orange and red, audiophile remasters, meditation, what we call « lâcher prise » in French, and lost gems.

- Official reissue and first vinyl release for Midori Takada’s rare 1999 album re-mixed and remastered in full audiophile audio.
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DLP: Limited Edition Transparent Vinyl with 45RPM Cut, Sleeve, Sticker


Genre: Liquid Drum n’ Bass, Electronic, Jungle, Video Game Music



Tracklisting DLP
A1. DUALSHOCK
A2. LOW POLY ROMANCE
B1. EMOTION ENGINE
B2. DREAMSHELL
C1. LEVEL SELECT
C2. SHADOW MOSES
D1. GLACIER ZONE (FT. DJ TOTAL 90)
D2. POLYGON DREAMSCAPE

Info

WRWTFWW Records is extremely excited to announce the first ever vinyl release for Pizza Hotline’s brilliant 2022 full-length Level Select, originally only released on cassette and digital. The liquid drum & bass meets Y2K era video gaming aesthetics monster is now available in a limited edition transparent vinyl double LP with a glorious 45rpm cut, p

Entirely written and composed by UK producer Pizza Hotline (apart from "GLACIER ZONE", a collaboration between Pizza Hotline and DJ Total 90), the stellar 8-song album was initially released as a limited cassette in January 2022 and quickly gained cult status - making a full-on vinyl release quite the necessity. It’s here now with the the previously unreleased track "POLYGON DREAMSCAPE" (which sounds as magical as its title) and 45rpm cut for louder, bigger, deeper bass rumbling.

Spellbinding, atmospheric, and beautifully melodic, Level Select is a large scope dreamy adventure of liquid DnB filled with ambient escapades, ethereal jungle, high vibe breaks, and a heavy loving dose of late 90s / early 2000s video game influences. Hypnotic late night hype and pensive chill moods mesh with ease in a cinematic soundscape that re-contextualizes and gives a new life to a beloved music genre - LTJ Bukem, Peshay, the Wipeout OST or Soichi Terada's Ape Escape come to mind, and sounds and soundtracks from the Sony Playstation, the Nintendo 64, and the Sega Saturn resonate from the speakers. It’s all fresh with a subtle nostalgia and so much heart. An instant classic.

Press start.

Points of interests

For fans of liquid DNB, Video games, ambient, late night vibes, computers and clubs, Soichi Terada's Ape Escape, LTJ Bukem, Peshay, Wipeout OST, good music, good music on video games, playing video games all night and possibly all week.

Limited edition vinyl of Pizza Hotline’s 2022 cult hit album redefining liquid drum & bass with a Y2K video game twist.

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mini lp/6 tracks/hq artwork

Tracklist:

A1: poly_ana summers [schoolyard surph beat]
A2: 10 muddy_puddle Trot
A3: duel TM

B1: 17 acetonia [au pied de cochon aescoba]
B2: ghaint [berl] with detro[id]
B3: 6 aucun Christ W


short Info:

brainwaltzera debuts on FILM.

The anonymous producer, whose work has has already received online approval from legendary british IDM auteur aphex twin, offers up an extended EP for the berlin based imprint.

In 2015 a soundcloud profile under the name user18081971 - now identified as belonging to richard d. james, commented on curious brainwaltzera upload quilat spring 1 [outtake]. the move prompted speculation as to who exactly is behind the music. exquisitely produced and executed in such fine fashion so as to decry pure imitation - there's plenty to theorise here.

regardless of their true creator - which will undoubtedly remain a secret for the time being, the compositions on FILM006 are of similarly high calibre. Varied in approach and marrying both electronic & acoustic elements with ease, the six tracks that comprise the record range from yearning ambient segues and dreamy down tempo grooves to otherworldly krautrock and more direct, dance floor fare - but remain bound tight as a cohesive and functional body of work by a glorious, arcane musicality. whether weaving soft electronic tones in and amongst snappy breaks or detuned drum-machine strikes, the artist's ear for acoustic harmony is perhaps the pervading theme across the six tracks that make up the aecoba EP, marking it out as an excellent addition to the FILM label's growing catalogue.


FUTURE.IS.LISTENING.MUSIC
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2LP & Handmade Sleeve

Tracklist:

A1. Disaster Protocol
A2. Saragossa Disambiguation
A3/4. the Daisy Chain - Adults


B1. Liminal States
B2. Junkie Foxtrot
B3. Dr Manhattan


C1. The 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
C2. Hot White Hot Black
C3. Autoimmune
C4. Dry Heaving


D1. A Fine, New Mother Now
D2. Snake Doctors
D3. SuperCell
D4. Slither

FILM Recordings will release the debut LP from Denial of Service.

The album follows up EP's Sensou (2015), and more recently Contour & Shape (2017) - but marks the producer's most expansive release on the label thus far by some margin. Clocking in at 15 tracks, the lengthy opus draws from the same palette found on previous work - drum machine driven, heavily mutated Electro and IDM sit alongside low slung Techno cuts and arpeggiated EBM references. As ever, the production is stunning - crisp and plosive, as much a record for the club as it is a tempered headphone experience; whilst the mood channels that same dank, claustrophobic energy found on previous missives.

As a body of work, the LP displays the distinctive touch of a production veteran. The transformative shifts in structure on opener A Fine, New Mother Now belie a kind of boldness found less often across the contemporary electronic music landscape; and the drum programming on IDM-leaning explorations Autoimmune & Supercell bear the hallmarks of a perfectionist with time on his hands and in full control of his art. Space and the placement of sonic components plays a huge role in the artist's work and the 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch displays this canny knack for generating both textural, wide angle soundscapes whilst maintaining that wrought-iron edge to drums and percussive elements - even more fervent, noisy compositions like Dr Manahattan manage to keep hold of this remarkable balance. It's impressive stuff, a fine and well worked meeting point between artistic vision and engineering prowess.

An elongated discussion, no doubt - but worth hearing every word. Each twist and bend, however sharp, remains carefully placed and beautifully recorded. Dryer works Slither & Junkie Foxtrot towards the LP finish offer a less introspective, more hard hitting angle to the work, and by the time the listener arrives at dual closer the Daisy Chain - Adults - they're ready for its heady catharsis.

The debut album from Denial of Service is a trip, and the line between club space and home listening environment is decidedly blurred - an emotive exploration of true psychedelic Electronica, delivered direct from the source.
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Beautiful 1 LP Edition 140g Vinyl, Heavy 350gsm Sleeve, Liner Notes, Sticker

- 11 never-heard tracks from Synthzerland pioneer Bruno Spoerri, released for the first time on vinyl, with liner notes by the artist.

WRWTFWW Records is very delighted to announce the release of Rare & Unreleased 1971-1998, a collection of never-heard and hard-to-find works by Swiss music pioneer and synth super wizard Bruno Spoerri. The album is sourced from original masters and available on a vinyl LP cut at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of Deutsche Grammophon), housed in a 350g sleeve with a superb artwork by Nicolas Eigenheer, and packed with track-by-track liner notes by Mr. Spoerri.

Rare & Unreleased 1971-1998 gives a fascinating glimpse into Bruno Spoerri's incredibly inventive repertoire, collecting tracks from projects as diverse as commissioned music for trade fairs, the Swiss railroads, or the union of Swiss cheese makers(!), soundtracks for TV shows about ecology, live synth improvisations at Montreux Jazz Festival, and sound installations for art exhibitions. Always the adventurer, Spoerri records a pneumatic drill for the irresistible electronic bossa of "Konzert für SIG-Pressluftwerkzeuge", mixes train sounds and the EMS Synthi-100 for the joyful lo-fi funk of "Rollin'", lets overheating synthesizers take a life of their own to create the sci-fi ambient of "Waves of Montreux", and works with bees, pigs and various birds for the environmental music bliss of "Rhythm'n bees" and "Birds of Cochin". Synthzerland rejoice, it's time for another captivating journey of sound exploration on Planet Spoerri!

Bruno Spoerri celebrated his 83th birthday in August this year. He is still experimenting, recording, customizing audio gear, improvising on stage and in the studio, collaborating (Julian Sartorius, Franz Treichler of Young Gods, Marco Repetto of Grauzone, Roger Girod…), inventing new sounds and finding new creative outlets. His immense, innovative, and award-filled career started in the 1950s and covers jazz, electronic music, film and tv work, early techno, ambient, and everything in between. Mr. Spoerri has influenced an entire generation of producers and musicians, including Jay-Z who sampled his song "On My Way" (without permission) for "Versus" on Magna Carta…Holy Grail (an agreement was later arranged).

This is WRWTFWW's third collaboration with Bruno Spoerri, after the reissue of seminal albums Voice of Taurus (1978) and The Sound of the UFOs (1978).

Tracklisting Vinyl LP
A1. Konzert für SIG-Pressluftwerkzeuge (1971, Mix February 2018) 3:36
A2. Rollin' (1973, Master February 2018) 2:42
A3. Waves of Montreux (1977, Master February 2018) (PM Music) 9:17
A4. Baustellenmusik (1979) 10:29
A5. Swisspack (1979) (PM Music) 2:28
B1. Rhythm'n bees (1980) 3:02
B2. Birds of Cochin (1998) 4:00
B3. Coalburner's delight (1998) 4:32
B4. Printit (1998) 5:04
B5. Paradise garden (1998) 4:35
B6. Stony broke night (1998) 5:52

- For fans of synthesizers, library music, experimental, early electronics, ambient, jazz, funk, proto-techno, movie soundtracks, sci-fi, Bruno Spoerri's Voice of Taurus and The Sound of the UFOs, Wendy Carlos, Pierre Schaeffer, Bernard Parmegiani, Piero Umiliani, Robert Cohen-Solal, Nino Nardini, GRM, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, beautiful weird things and customized audio gear.



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Special remarks : LP with download code

Tracklist:

1. Height/Dismay - Mother's Footsteps
2. The Frenzied Bricks - Vicious Circle
3. Modern Jazz - Zoom Dub
4. Mr Knott - Poor Galileo (He Has Gone Mad)
5. Aeroplane Footsteps - Arabia
6. Shanghai Au Go-Go - I Cried All Winter
7. Matt Mawson - Open The Goddam Door
8. The Horse He's Sick - Terminal Rebound
9. Wrong Kind Of Stone Age - Ravi Dubbi
10. Les Trois Etrangers - Luna

Short info:

Oz Echoes peels away another layer of Australia's '80s DIY hive mind. The Oz Waves successor exposes a deeper circuit of micro-run cassettes, community radio archives and irrationally abandoned studio sessions, as Steele Bonus sequences a 10-track compendium of drone pop, psyche-electronics and agitated tape cut-ups.

From the Sydney cassette network, The Horse He's Sick returns with an industrial car crash, alongside Wrong Kind of Stone Age's pagan cacophony and primal riddims. M Squared dynamo Patrick Gibson appears in both Height/Dismay and Mr Knott, his respective studio-as-an-instrument collaborations with Dru Jones (Scattered Order) and ex-Slugfucker Gordon Renouf - the former's worn out apparition hails from an instantly deleted 1981 7", while Mr Knott entrust one of the compilation's five previously unreleased tracks.

Matt Mawson represents Brisbane music media-printed matter collective ZIP, as Adelaide's Three D Radio grants access to their vaults of live-to-air recordings and aspiring demo submissions, rescuing the slap-happy punk-funk of The Frenzied Bricks and Jandy Rainbow's prodigious beginnings in Les Trois Etrangers and Aeroplane Footsteps. Synchronously in Melbourne, Ash Wednesday (Karen Marks, The Metronomes) leads Modern Jazz' improvised proto-techno and EBM pioneers Shanghai Au Go-Go home record their sardonic synth-wave.

A cherry-picked cast of unusual suspects, Oz Echoes' unfamed artist and non-band narratives are detailed by track-by-track liner notes with rarely published archival visions and artwork from Video Synth, prompting further rabbit hole ventures into this golden era of creative risk-taking and instant action.
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Format Notes: 2024 repress, 140g vinyl, can be played at 33rpm or 45rpm


Track List:

A1 : Swans (01:56)
A2 : New Danger (01:57)
A3 : Old Habits (02:02)
A4 : Chase Theme No. 1 (01:49)
A5 : Infinite Bliss (01:34)
A6 : Evening (01:41)

B1 : Rain Dance (02:54)
B2 : Sure Thing (02:12)
B3 : Garçon Manqué (02:00)
B4 : Turning In (02:49)
B5 : Chase Theme No. 2 (01:05)
B6 : Hues (02:00)

Release Notes:

Frank Maston’s Tulips is a sample-ready film score to the best 70s movie never made. Originally a super-limited self-release on his Phonoscope label in late 2017, Tulips has already become incredibly sought-after. Be With were introduced to Maston by mutual friends Aquarium Drunkard and it didn’t take long before we decided this modern classic deserved a reissue.

Inspired by the deep-grooving soundtracks of Italian cinema - think Morricone, Umiliani and Alessandroni - Maston conceived the entire Tulips project as a continuation of these revered works. Frank designed the artwork and made two 16mm films to accompany the music: “It wasn’t just the LP… it was kind of a whole vibe I was trying to create. Not really trying to emulate the things that influenced me but more trying to make something that could sit alongside those records on a shelf. I’m still very proud of the project.”

There’s a distinct library music feel too, with wiry organ, spacey keyboards and loping 60s guitar hinting at KPM and DeWolfe. Like the best library music, Tulips creates a cinematic universe through sound alone, evoking moving images in the listener’s technicolour imagination. It turns out that was accidentally on purpose: “I was discovering a lot of library music for the first time… listening to a composer’s entire catalog or finding all this obscure stuff. I wasn’t entirely conscious of the influence until I started making this music and realized I was channeling the vibe. That’s when I began focusing more on weaving melodic themes throughout the record to make it function more like a soundtrack”.

Tulips was recorded between 2015 and 2017 in a small studio in a village called Zwaag in Holland, during downtime from Frank’s touring duties with Jacco Gardner’s band. “Tulips” comes from the title of the very first demo he made in Holland, it was the first thing that came to mind. Makes sense.

Recording in Europe with some very European influences in mind, Frank wanted to eschew any American influences. But we can still feel the studio wizardry of the likes of Brian Wilson and Harry Nilsson in there somewhere. A psychedelic bedroom-pop song-cycle, full of hypnotic hooks and dusty drums, Tulips manages to sound charmingly homemade yet wholly widescreen.

Dreamy opener “Swans” is an exquisite soul instrumental and recalls the soft-psych of Koushik, which Be With loves of course. Tropicalia influences abound in the cool and breezy “New Danger” and the KPM-references are loud and proud on the lush organ pop of “Old Habits”. Fast-paced “Chase Theme No. 1” manages to be both tense and laid back, decorated by acid-drenched spaghetti Western guitars. The glorious Gainsbourg-esque melancholia of “Infinite Bliss” is all gauzy flutes and happy-sad vocalizing and the title is almost perfect: it’s bliss, no question; *if only* it went on forever. Side A closes with “Evening”, a subtle bossa nova beat thing. Gorgeous.

Side B opens with the heat-shimmer guitars of “Rain Dance”, evoking an unreleased Byrds or Buffalo Springfield backing track. Yes, it’s that good. “Sure Thing” is music to accompany an elevator ride you never want to end, but in a good way! The ornate “Garçon Manqué” is as beautiful as the instrumentals on Pet Sounds (think “Let’s Go Away For A While”) and the wistful “Turning In” starts like a stroll in the park before Maston introduces a scorched-Earth guitar solo that would startle if it wasn’t so pitch-perfect. “Chase Theme No. 2” is a briefer, more keening counterpart to what we hear on side A. The head-nod bass-drums-keys funk of “Hues” rounds out this staggeringly assured set; still opening each phrase with a plaintive strum, but using vibrato and heavy reverb to accent the electric organ melody. Sublime.

All these top drawer musical references might sound like just more of the usual release notes hyperbole, but there’s a reason that this still-young LP already changes hands for big money. It really is that good. Of course that first pressing didn’t hang around for long and Frank’s regularly been asked about a re-press pretty much ever since.

Re-issuing Tulips on Be With made sense to Frank “because the record would fit in so well with the catalogue”. Having already delved into the archives of KPM and Themes, and beginning to do the same with Coloursound and Selected Sounds, the collaboration “just makes sense and seems inevitable”. We agree.

Frank wasn’t sure a record of instrumentals with obscure soundtrack references would be an easy sell when it was originally released, and was surprised when Tulips turned out to be exactly what some people wanted to hear. We reckon its timeless beauty ensures that it’ll *always* have an audience.

The record was originally cut to be played at 45rpm, a technical quirk that grants the home listener the opportunity to go deeper, for longer. Played at 33rpm, the more languid unfurling of the tracks proves just as wonderful a trip. As a psilocybin-soaked case study from Aquarium Drunkard back in January of 2019 describes, some of the songs sound as if they were intended to be heard that way. The slower speed allowing the listener to step inside and perhaps even “crack the code” of the music’s meaning.

Mastered for this vinyl reissue by Simon Francis and featuring alternative burnt orange artwork from Maston himself, this Be With pressing is limited to just 500 copies. Hypnagogic it may be, but please don’t sleep.

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