LP. 180G BioVinyl, Obi Tag, Printed Inner Sleeves, Special Pantone Colors


2. GENRE/S: Electronic / Dark Ambient

3. TRACKLISTS:

Side A
(1) Versus (18'26")

Side B
(2) Antinome (6'57")
(3) In Situ (5'18")

Side C
(4) Sirocco (16'35")
(5) Catalyst (4'58")

Side D
(6) Faceless (pulse) (5'31")
(7) The Outside Doesn't Dream of Itself (9'30")
(8) Little One (4'21")
(9) Aporia (5'44")

4. SHORT INFO:

PATRICK HIGGINS is an American composer, guitarist, and producer from New York City, known for his work in experimental and contemporary classical music. Higgins plays guitar and composes in the band Zs, described by The New York Times as "one of the strongest avant-garde bands in New York." Heralded as a "formidable concert music composer" (Boston Globe) and "one of the most gifted guitarists working today" (The Quietus), Higgins has received attention for bridging traditions including baroque chamber music, contemporary noise, electronics and 20th century minimalism. His work has been performed in over 25 countries internationally, and he has composed works for some of the world's leading ensembles, ranging from chamber orchestra works, percussion cycles, and string quartets to smaller ensembles and soloists. He has scored works for television, museum exhibitions, and films both short-form and feature-length. Since 2013, he has operated Future-Past Studios, a recording studio in upstate NY.
He recently had a solo exhibition of artworks and sheet music, as well as two world premiers, at The Clark Museum in MA, USA. In 2019, he was a curator and headliner of the Le Guess Who festival in Holland. Higgins has performed and presented works at many of the world's largest festivals and venues across the past 12 years, including The Broad Museum (LA), The Warhol Museum, SF MOMA, Unsound Festival (Poland), Pioneer Works (NYC), Monom Berlin, Sony Ginza Park (Tokyo), ReWire (Holland), Cleveland MOCA, ICA Boston, Teatro Carignano (Torino IT), Sacrum Profanum (Kracow), Merriweather Post Pavillion, Donau Festival (Austria), Paula Cooper Gallery (NYC), Club Unit (Tokyo), Shakespeare Theater (Gdansk), The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and many more.

5. VITAL SALES POINTS:

Higgins currently records for the Other People label, and has previously worked with NNA Tapes, Northern Spy, and Telegraph Harp records.
He is the founding member of AEAEA, a new duo project with electronic musician Nicolás Jaar.

"Patrick Higgins composes with a scholar's historical perspective and a punk's sense of abandon." - PITCHFORK
"one of the prime movers of the avant-garde" - The New Yorker
"a pioneer of modern experimental music" - East Village Radio (NYC)

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LP

2. GENRE/S: Electronic / Trip Hop / Breaks


3. TRACKLISTS:

1 - Time To Hold Better
2 - This Time Last Year
3 - We Keep Us Safe
4 - Melancholy Sabotage
5 - Measures
6 - We Don't Owe
7 - Breaking Points
8 - Eviction

The new album from Lebanese-American musician Solpara, Melancholy Sabotage, marks his full length debut and return to Nicolas Jaar's Other People label. While it was recorded over Covid lockdowns, Jaar had been talking about wanting to back a Solpara full-length since he put out Swing. The album came to life while Solpara was living alone in a Brooklyn loft, collecting unemployment checks and viewing ample free time as the artist residency he'd dreamed of; he'd previously been forced to make music in odd windows between numerous jobs and the unmerciful pace of city life. Free from obligations, he would wake up early to take Arabic lessons online, read Tracey Thorn's autobiography, and skateboard the deserted streets, then come home and design sounds until he had a track that felt like it needed to be released. While this easy going lifestyle was peaceful in many ways, Solpara found more complex inspiration in the emotion that stemmed from participation in Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, which rocked all of his extended family members in Lebanon.

Melancholy Sabotage explores the theme of sabotaging melancholy. Echoing sounds from the post-punk, trip-hop, and ambient genres, it is about sabotaging the cycle of melancholy and looking at this process without ignoring the sources that put it into motion. It may be compared to a rattling breaking free from retention, reaching states of dreamy euphoria while simultaneously acknowledging the sources of retention, viewed from above. The sources can be personal, political, or socio-economic. They are to be apprehended post-melancholy, after the sabotaging of the initial cycle of melancholy. In other words, it is about transcending melancholy and understanding where it came from with some distance. It may be beautiful and healthy to feel for a while, but how may one sabotage this cycle when it becomes paralyzing? Ultimately, this album is about feeling melancholy but also resisting it and naming the sources that initiated it.

"Time To Hold Better" points to neglect on both personal and group levels. "This Time Last Year" is a personal time capsule. "We Keep Us Safe" is about solidarity, autonomy, and care witnessed within protest groups. "Melancholy Sabotage" is a sonic exploration of the album concept illustrating anger and sadness, but finally, resistance and liberation from these feelings. "Measures" is a more fluid exploration of the latter after the initial storm has passed. "We Don't Owe" points to bigger bodies inflicting harm on populations that we owe nothing to. "Breaking Points" harkens the times that we may lose focus while pushing to transcend melancholy. "Eviction" is about being pushed out of a space unwillingly while simultaneously being forced to move forward.

Melancholy Sabotage pulls from a range of genres, uniting electronic sounds under the same post-punky glow. It pulls from complex, heavy themes including damage and injustice, presenting Solpara's most moving body of work to date. It highlights the poignance that has always been at the heart of his fluid sound, which caters to dancefloors and avant-garde spaces in equal measure. Working with a mix of dissonant guitars, distorted drum machines, and distant, reverb-washed vocals, Melancholy Sabotage is Solpara's uneasiest outing to date. The record pinpoints the duality at the heart of Solpara's sound, which is as plaintive as it is searing.



5. VITAL SALES POINTS:

Solpara launched the label and event series Booma Collective with Oren Ratowsky and Valentin Stip - a lowkey institution in the international techno circuit.

His 2015 EP, Swing, marked both a sonic and professional turning point. It split the difference between noisy techno and spacey ambience, capturing the essence of a young artist settling into a singular lane. Issued by Nicolas Jaar's esteemed Other People label, it solidified Solpara's place as an inimitable up-and-comer. "Nicolas and I met in high school, played in a band together, and have been exchanging music ever since," he says. In part thanks to Jaar's powerful co-sign, subsequent Solpara releases landed on imprints such as Quiet Time Tapes and Bruta?.

Solpara fuses elements of post-punk, ambient, house, and dub techno. While plenty of his cuts would fit within the context of an energizing DJ set, many are arrhythmic and avant-garde. When asked about his influences, Solpara cites artists ranging from Laurel Halo to Laurie Spiegel to Massive Attack to Denis Mpunga to Lily Tchiumba. His eclectic tastes were nurtured while studying film and philosophy in college, with German expressionism, Tarkovsky, and Chris Marker's La Jetee allowing him to realize the atmosphere he had been searching for. This curiosity was further encouraged by Booma Collective members and his roommate Jurg Haller, who went on to found the label Forbidden Planet Records. Later, after Solpara returned to his New York City hometown, he worked as a buyer for the now-shuttered record store Halcyon. In that job, he listened to copious amounts of music every day. His deep knowledge of culture has had a strong impact on a sound that is simultaneously fluid and commanding.


More

Cassette

GENRE/S: Alternative / Electronic / Soundscapes

TRACKLISTS:

1. Antena magne?tica captando campos electromagneticos I
2. Antena magne?tica captando campos electromagne?ticos II
3. Micro?fono de contacto captando vibracio?n del puente Llacole?n
4. Micro?fono de contacto captando la interaccio?n entre el viento y un a?rbol
5. Micro?fono de contacto en elementos vibrantes
6. Micro?fonos de contacto captando granizos
7. Micro?fonos de contacto en autobu?s
8. Hidro?fono bajo el fondo del mar
9. Vibraciones de materiales Geofon II
10. Vibraciones de materiales Geofon I
11. Vibraciones de materiales Geofon III
12. En la direccio?n del viento
13. Ronroneo de selai
14. Rai?l
15. Efectos sonoros en la naturaleza


SHORT INFO:

Valentina Villarroel is a sound artist and phonographer who explores the intricate dynamics within various Southern ecosystems. Her work revolves around the profound potential of acoustic ecology, particularly in the face of encroaching real estate development on natural spaces. She also delves into the consequences of sound pollution on numerous species, contributing to their decline or disappearance. In recent years, her focus has extended to urban soundscapes and significant sonic events, such as the October 18th protest in Chile. With a solid background in bioacoustics applied to both human and animal well-being, Valentina assumes the role of co-director at AOIR Sound Laboratory. There, she spearheads an interdisciplinary initiative that centers sound as its core element. This includes the creation of the sonic cartography portal aoir.cl, as well as the development of handmade electronic devices like the Bowerbankii and the creation of various experimental microphones.

VITAL SALES POINTS:

Available only on limited cassette
More

2LP with Printed PVC Sleeve

GENRE/S: Alternative / Electronic

TRACKLISTS:

LP1:
A1 / 1. Ale Hop - Head Transplant
A2 / 2. Daniela Huerta - Tza Tun Tzat
A3 / 3. Debashis Sinha - For the waters ever taste the heavens up parts I-V

B1 / 4. Hexorcismos - ¿Acaso de veras se vive con raíz en la Tierra?
B2 / 5. Hexorcismos & El Irreal Veintiuno - Interferencias
B3 / 6. Jessika Khazrik - Gebera

LP2:
C1/ 7. Khyam Allami - Mix v6
C2 / 8. Kloxii Li - Anhaga
C3 / 9. KMRU - hidden options
C4 / 10. MAF - What's heard once entered (Nommo)

D1 / 11. Portrait XO - MUTUALISM_151122
D2 / 12. Simina Oprescu - Granularities
D3 / 13. Visions of Lizard - Barranca del muerto



SHORT INFO:

For the last seven years, sound artist, technologist, and electronic musician Moisés Horta Valenzuela (aka Hexorcismos) has been studying artificial intelligence and generative art, wondering how these new technologies might be augmented into his musical process. Born in Tijuana and currently based in Berlin, Hexorcismos has long attempted to break down the permeable borders between musical styles and expressions, using the spaces in between to reinforce his politics and worldview. And on 'MUTALISMX - becoming sonic network', he expands his vision, inviting artists from across the globe to collaborate on work that questions the biases inherent in AI models, offering a collective alternative that could serve as a blueprint for further research.

The majority of AI art at this stage works with "big data", taking ideas from the cultural canon and muddying them with our contemporary reality. But if we accept that mass culture is always politically biased, always swaying towards historical prejudices, then there must be a counter-narrative. Hexorcismos began to develop a bottom-up approach, using "small data" to interrogate his idiosyncratic approach to art; he built a tool called SEMILLA.AI based on neural audio synthesis that could not only mimic his sonic fingerprint but transform it into another. So when he offered the synth to his network of collaborators, he gave them the option of either using only their data or sharing the signatures of each other artist involved in the project, blurring their identities into a mutual voice.

The result is a compilation that unspools with the coherence and fluidity of a single-artist album or adventurous DJ mix, genreless and boundless but unified by a singular message. Hunanese-American artist Kloxii Li for example takes rugged percussion and tense, industrial ambience, smudging her soundscape into a swirling gust of ghostly dissonance. Hexorcismos himself contributes two compositions: the lengthy, hypnotic 'Acaso de veras se vive con raíz en la Tierra', an AI-powered scramble of his pointed tribal guarachero experiments; and 'Interferencias', a collaboration with Mexican club veteran Bryan Dálvez, aka El Irreal Veintiuno that drives intense dancefloor rhythms into a dense haze of frozen drones and radio static. Elsewhere, Berlin-based Lebanese artist and writer Jessika Khazrik dissolves her voice into a mesh of obscured rhythms and dissociated whirrs, blending the organic with the artificial but retaining an overpowering sense of humanity.

Some artists were drawn to the nebulous aspects of the technology, searching for truth in a soup of different sounds, while others, such as KMRU, used Hexorcismos's synthesizer the examine their output. On 'hidden options', the Kenyan sound artist fed his immense catalog into the neural net, bringing out his mannerisms and tendencies in the process. Each track is singular but myriad, prompting both mutual respect and a sonic becoming, a feedback process between the artist and the tool, the individual and the collective. Data sets are made by people, and by engaging directly with musicians, Hexorcismos suggests a new way of utilizing a technology demonized and glorified without careful examination. Each artist owns their AI model, and alongside the album Hexorcismos will release SEMILLA.AI to the public (with custom-made models to start the process), allowing anyone to access this revolutionary technology.

Even the album's artwork reflects the political message, conceptualized by Chilean duo hypereikon, who used AI processes to develop a visual reflection of the technology and its possibilities. Operating outside of academia and capitalist enterprises, MUTUALISMX proposes an alternative future - one without borders that's not beholden to the Western canon, where independent labor can be prioritized and celebrated, and where creativity can truly flourish.
More

LP, Artwork with Obi Tag, Vinyl made of BioVinyl

2. GENRE/S: Alternative / Electronic

3. TRACKLISTS:

A
1. Intiha - 3:50
2. Nazar Se - 4:14
3. Muddat - 6:30
4. Raat Bhar - 2:58

B
5. Dard - 7:30
6. Chiragh - 5:46
7. Lagta Nahi - 2:10
8. Dono Jahan - 3:32


4. SHORT INFO:

Singer, songwriter and author Ali Sethi had been entranced by Jaar's music long before they began collaborating. He'd absorbed the sounds over a number of years, listening casually and taking in their subtleties in bars and rooftop parties across Lahore and London. "It felt familiar to me, that sense of adventure you have when you hear his music, like a tale that teases you and plays with your expectations as it unfolds," says Sethi. "In that sense it resembled the leisurely improvised ghazals and qawwalis I grew up hearing in Pakistan." So when the two were finally introduced by Indian visual artist Somnath Bhatt, a regular Jaar collaborator who also handled the album's artwork, Sethi was well prepared. He began to sketch out voice notes using loops snipped from Jaar's acclaimed 2020 album 'Telas', improvising vocalizations and seductive Urdu poems over Jaar's weightless, time-bending productions. Jaar was astonished by the result; "It was what 'Telas' had been missing," he explains.

Improvisation has been important to the Chilean artist for many years. Before he had even started making electronic music, Jaar jammed on accordion with friends on the street in New York City. It's at the core of his practice, "a moment in time," in his own words. 'Intiha', the opening track on the album, is the first they finished together, and positions Sethi's evocative phrases over Jaar's faded, metallic percussion. It's a perfect proof of concept, re- imagining the world of 'Telas' and augmenting it with a sense of ancestral melancholy and giddy euphoria that's truly transformational.
Sethi is best known globally for his attempts to revive the ghazal, an ancient poetic form that was taken by Sufi mystics from the Arab world to Persia and throughout the Indian subcontinent, where it captivated the royal court. It's been unfashionable in the last few decades, a mannered style associated with decadence, and Sethi offers it a new lease of life through his playfully revisionist covers and renditions. (His most popular single 'Pasoori' is a global phenomenon, one of the most Googled songs of 2022, with hundreds of millions of listeners tuning into its timeless message of forbidden love.) Sethi updates the ghazal form by using his years of training in raga music, lifting metaphors that reflect his journey as an out-of- place queer kid in Pakistan who became a US citizen and now lives in New York City.


5. VITAL SALES POINTS:

Critically acclaimed musician Nicolas Jaar collaborates with Pakistani artist Ali Sethi for a reworking of his original album Telas

Ali Sethi song "Pasoori" was the most googled song in 2022. It has over a billion streams across his profiles


More

LP [Limited Edition Vinyl]
GENRE/S: Alternative / Electronic / Noise

TRACKLISTS:

1. At The Opposite Pole of Architectural Virtue
2. In One Corner The Male Relatives
3. Serene Company
4. Tiles of The Façade
5. Chafing Dish
6. Such Gardens There Are
7. Capping Verse
8. Overdose Ferocious
9. Patience Of A Traitor
10. Bareekullah Picnic
11. In Thrall

SHORT INFO:

Tehran-born, NY based brothers Mohammad and Mehdi collaborate with Ian McDonnell, a.k.a. Eomac on a new record entitled "Patience of a Traitor". Inspired by the traditional bath houses in their native Tehran, the brothers say: "This record speaks to preserving the things that are timeless, through revisiting the past. The traditional Persian bath house - its architecture, the role it played in keeping, building community, the bathing rituals - served as our ultimate symbol. Now we drink from one cup, and fill the jar with the other."

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LP [Limited Edition Vinyl]

GENRE/S: Alternative / Electronic / Ambient

TRACKLIST:

1. Addio
2. Felicitazioni
3. Piccolo e Cattivo
4. Mio Signore
5. Tranquillo
6. Oboe Vento e Rumore
7. Ti Saluto Parte 2
8. Contacto
9. Casa di Emma
10. Ti Saluto Parte 1

SHORT INFO:

Dienne's 'Addio' is a 32 minute study on loss and mourning. Following the death of her grandmother due to covid, and unable to say a proper goodbye due to travel restrictions, Dienne set out to give her "Addio" through musical form. She lets objects fall, leaves windows open, and lets the wind dust off the shelves. This is the sound of everyday mourning, a taste instead of an event. A lingering, broken and patient work of undeniable beauty.

Credits:
Artwork by Africanus Okokon and Maziyar Pahlevan.
Mastering by Gert Van Hoof.

Bio:
Dienne is a Belgian composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. She builds songs and soundscapes portraying images & stories that play behind her eyes. Starting with the oboe as a child, before adding the piano and flute to her repertoire, she later produced soundtracks for theater and dance performances. Her debut 'Addio' will be released on 'Other People'.

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LTD 2LP [Includes Art Prints by Zofia Kulik]

Compiled on vinyl for the first time

GENRE/S: Library / Ambient

TRACKLISTS:

1. Krzysztof Knittel: Lapis (1985)
2. Bohdan Mazurek: Canti (1973)
3. Magdalena Dàugosz: Yes and No (1990)
4. Barbara Zawadzka - Greya - III (1991)
5. Barbara Zawadzka Greya - IV (1990)
6. Barbara Zawadzka Greya - II (1987)
7. Rudnik - Epitaph of Stones (1984)
8. Boguslaw Shaeffer - Symphony. Elec…e (perf. by Wolfram) (1964-66) - I
9. Boguslaw Shaeffer - Symphony. Elec… (perf. by Wolfram) (1964-66) - II
10. Boguslaw Shaeffer - Symphony. Elec…(perf. by Wolfram) (1964-66) - III
11. Boguslaw Shaeffer - Symphony. Elec… (perf. by Wolfram) (1964-66) - IV


SHORT INFO:

Would It Sound Just As Bad If You Played It Backwards?"

A Collection of Sounds from the Studio Eksperymentalne Polskiego Radia (1959-2001)
Art by Zofia Kulik



"Would it sound just as bad if you played it backwards?" assembles a collection of audio experi-ments created at the Polish Radio Experimental Studio (PRES) from 1959 to the beginning of the century. These exceptional works are presented alongside images from the Polish artist Zofia Kulik, whose career reached its apogee between the late 1960s and early 70s. While PRES and Kulik remain touchstones in the recent history of the Polish avant-garde, presenting them togeth-er in one release may not have seemed like an obvious choice. There are, of course, some histori-cal intersections-the most notable being a shared interest in Polish artist and architect Oskar Hansen's Open Form theory. Open Form promoted a modular theory of architecture that became a tool adapted by its users and inhabitants. Hansen's ideas influenced Kulik's early works and also manifested in the PRES's iconic "black room," a music studio designed by Hansen, himself, which was equipped with moveable sound panels that absorbed or reflected sounds to promote a greater, creative freedom from its users. And yet, as it usually goes, the most obvious connections are usually the most deceitful. Whereas Kulik initially followed Open Form, she later turned away from it. And as for the black room-it mostly worked in theory but not in practice. What is it then that makes the two work together?

Within the realm of art history, Kulik's work is often divided into two periods: her early, artistic endeavours connected to Open Form, and the KwieKulik collaboration (with Przemys?av Kwiek), followed by her later turn towards a closed form, characterised by a departure from pro-cessual art in favour of material works of art. Yet these terms don't necessarily bring out the es-sence of Kulik's works. The artist explained that Hansen's Open Form was important for how it opened his students to perceive their environments in a different way. Reminiscing about those times, she states, "I wanted to catch the moment when the object I was looking at was real. I de-cided that as a static item it can never be real-it's possible only in the process of looking at it. That translates to the object being recorded and presented in certain sequences [...] there's the astonishment at the materiality of objects, colours, transformations."

Kulik's works chosen for this release are taken from two projects, Lady Halina and Cones (1968-71) and Excursion with White Screen. Route: Cemetery, The Palace of Culture, which were in-cluded in Kulik's diploma at the Sculpture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. The projects consisted of slide projections presented on three screens, with specific temporal se-quencing. Lady Halina and Cones presents a woman's body, its forms, geometrical figures, and shapes undergoing a process of transformation. About Excursion with White Screen, Kulik says "this white sheet was supposed to signify an empty screen in different spatial situations in the city. I thought that I would later project a slide onto that screen, imposing another image after-wards, like a collage, but suddenly that screen became a material object instead of an abstract, pure idea of a potential image within an image. It became an object in itself and I began to notice that the screen sometimes wrinkles in the cemetery, and sometimes moves with the wind." A myriad of new meanings and references arise in the twenty-first century from Kulik's sequenced films. From the perspective of a young woman, Lady Halina and Scones poses questions about the objectification of women, the boundaries of their agency, and the recognition of their subjec-tivity within the patriarchal world in which their bodies often functioned as objects of control. In Excursion with White Screen the symbolism of a white sheet placed against a background image of a cemetery or the Palace of Culture questions the role of these religio-political monuments, the white screen acting as an empty, and potentially alternative, space between them.

The music chosen for "Would it sound just as bad if you played it backwards?" spans most of the history of the Polish Radio Experimental Studio, including tracks as early as W?odzimi-erz Koto?ski's "Concrete etude, Study for One Cymbal Stroke," and ending chronologically with Wolfram's rendition of Bogus?aw Schaeffer's "Symphony. Electronic Music." Just as with Kulik's works, the contemporaneity of the music presented is astonishing. The album opens and closes with Krzysztof Knittel's 1980s compositions, "Lapis" and "Poko," and perfectly encapsu-late his descriptions of his experiences in the studio: "We acted without any initial plans or elec-tronic scores, there were no goals to be achieved, no creative method defined in advance. We used our aesthetic and technological knowledge freely, the shapes of tracks emerged during our shared work in the studio."

The album also includes "Mictlan I" (1987) and "Yes and No," (1990) two stunning works by Magdalena D?ugosz, who studied composition with Krystyna Moszuma?ska-Nazar and music theory with Józef Patkowski. Since 1979 she has been teaching in the Electroacoustic Music Stu-dio at the Academy of Music in Kraków.

Also featured is the avant-garde composer El?bieta Sikora, Knittel's fellow member from the KEW Composers' Group, with her stark pieces "Letters to M" and "View from the Window," (1971), and Barbara Zawadzka, whose "Greya" (1988) is meant to evoke different sequencings of the colour grey. In this piece, particularly, it's hard not to appreciate the similarity to Kulik's notion of sequencing and transformation of objects.

Bernadetta Matuszczak's "Libera me" (1991) is an example of a somewhat different creative ex-perience. In a radio interview conducted by Marek Zwyrzykowski in 1992, the composer stated that she wasn't intending to discover any "extraordinary electronic effects"; instead, she focused on the piece's "expressive layer." With the help of Tadeusz Sudnik from PRES, she incorporated into "Libera Me" the characteristic melody from the Polish version of the Orthodox hymn "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal" and then combined it with sounds of explosions and instru-mental recordings, a veiled response to the US's interventions during the Gulf War.

Eugeniusz Rudnik, the composer and sound engineer whose name is among those most strongly associated with PRES, contributes with his "Epitaph for Stones," (1984) a dedication to Jerzy Popie?uszko, the Polish Roman Catholic priest associated with the Solidarity trade union and an-ti-communist movement who was murdered by the Security Service. Bohdan Mazurek, who took over the reins of the studio from Rudnik in 1962 is also included with his piece "Canti" (1973).

As mentioned above, the album also includes W?odzimierz Koto?ski's seminal "Concrete etude, Study for One Cymbal Stroke," a piece sourced from the single stroke of a mid-sized Turkish cymbal; it is often considered to be an important starting point for the development of experi-mental music in Poland. And, finally, the album features two performances of Bogus?aw Schaeffer's "Symphony. Electronic Music," the first by Bohdan Mazurek which remains very close to the composer's score, and a contemporary version by Wolfram, which takes much more creative liberties.

In a text about his seminal work, Schaeffer stated that he "decided to include the factor of inter-pretation in a work that was greatly precise by nature" underlining the importance of shifting el-ements: "the development of music lies in individual elements shifting in the hierarchy of their functions." Indeed, an interest in shifting hierarchies seems present in Kulik's powerful images and most of the sound pieces contained in this release. When the Polish Radio appointed Eu-geniusz Rudnik to present PRES's technical capabilities to a conservative delegation of Soviet composers, he was met with a bitter reply: "Would it sound just as bad, if you played it back-wards?" asked the rigid composers. Rudnick's answer was to create "Skalary," (1966) a multi-version piece which could be played from start to finish and from finish to start, at different speeds, as well as with altered left and right channel distribution. This modular openness calls to mind the empty sheet in Kulik's images. Whatever the context, its static emptiness creates space for a different reality than that which those in power had in mind. This brings us back to Kulik's thoughts on her experiences as a student in the late 60s, a pivotal time in which she determined the process of looking and listening was central to reality itself, thereby shattering the rigidity of traditional forms and religio-political power: "I decided that as a static item, an object can never be real-it's possible only in the process of looking at it."




More

LTD 2LP [Includes Art Prints by Zofia Kulik]

Compiled on vinyl for the first time

GENRE/S: Library / Ambient

TRACKLISTS:

1. Wlodzimierz Kotonski - Study for One Cymbal Stroke (1951)
2. Symphony. Electronic music, part I (performed by Bohdan Mazurek) (1966)
3. Elzbieta Sikora - Letters to M. (1980)
4. Bernadetta Matuszczak - Libera me (1991)
5. Elzbieta Sikora - View from the Window (1978)
6. Magdalena Dlugosz - Mictlan I (1987)
7. Barbara Zawadzka - Greya part V (1991)
8. Krzysztof Knittel - Poko (1986)



SHORT INFO:

Would It Sound Just As Bad If You Played It Backwards?"

A Collection of Sounds from the Studio Eksperymentalne Polskiego Radia (1959-2001)
Art by Zofia Kulik



"Would it sound just as bad if you played it backwards?" assembles a collection of audio experi-ments created at the Polish Radio Experimental Studio (PRES) from 1959 to the beginning of the century. These exceptional works are presented alongside images from the Polish artist Zofia Kulik, whose career reached its apogee between the late 1960s and early 70s. While PRES and Kulik remain touchstones in the recent history of the Polish avant-garde, presenting them togeth-er in one release may not have seemed like an obvious choice. There are, of course, some histori-cal intersections-the most notable being a shared interest in Polish artist and architect Oskar Hansen's Open Form theory. Open Form promoted a modular theory of architecture that became a tool adapted by its users and inhabitants. Hansen's ideas influenced Kulik's early works and also manifested in the PRES's iconic "black room," a music studio designed by Hansen, himself, which was equipped with moveable sound panels that absorbed or reflected sounds to promote a greater, creative freedom from its users. And yet, as it usually goes, the most obvious connections are usually the most deceitful. Whereas Kulik initially followed Open Form, she later turned away from it. And as for the black room-it mostly worked in theory but not in practice. What is it then that makes the two work together?

Within the realm of art history, Kulik's work is often divided into two periods: her early, artistic endeavours connected to Open Form, and the KwieKulik collaboration (with Przemys?av Kwiek), followed by her later turn towards a closed form, characterised by a departure from pro-cessual art in favour of material works of art. Yet these terms don't necessarily bring out the es-sence of Kulik's works. The artist explained that Hansen's Open Form was important for how it opened his students to perceive their environments in a different way. Reminiscing about those times, she states, "I wanted to catch the moment when the object I was looking at was real. I de-cided that as a static item it can never be real-it's possible only in the process of looking at it. That translates to the object being recorded and presented in certain sequences [...] there's the astonishment at the materiality of objects, colours, transformations."

Kulik's works chosen for this release are taken from two projects, Lady Halina and Cones (1968-71) and Excursion with White Screen. Route: Cemetery, The Palace of Culture, which were in-cluded in Kulik's diploma at the Sculpture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. The projects consisted of slide projections presented on three screens, with specific temporal se-quencing. Lady Halina and Cones presents a woman's body, its forms, geometrical figures, and shapes undergoing a process of transformation. About Excursion with White Screen, Kulik says "this white sheet was supposed to signify an empty screen in different spatial situations in the city. I thought that I would later project a slide onto that screen, imposing another image after-wards, like a collage, but suddenly that screen became a material object instead of an abstract, pure idea of a potential image within an image. It became an object in itself and I began to notice that the screen sometimes wrinkles in the cemetery, and sometimes moves with the wind." A myriad of new meanings and references arise in the twenty-first century from Kulik's sequenced films. From the perspective of a young woman, Lady Halina and Scones poses questions about the objectification of women, the boundaries of their agency, and the recognition of their subjec-tivity within the patriarchal world in which their bodies often functioned as objects of control. In Excursion with White Screen the symbolism of a white sheet placed against a background image of a cemetery or the Palace of Culture questions the role of these religio-political monuments, the white screen acting as an empty, and potentially alternative, space between them.

The music chosen for "Would it sound just as bad if you played it backwards?" spans most of the history of the Polish Radio Experimental Studio, including tracks as early as W?odzimi-erz Koto?ski's "Concrete etude, Study for One Cymbal Stroke," and ending chronologically with Wolfram's rendition of Bogus?aw Schaeffer's "Symphony. Electronic Music." Just as with Kulik's works, the contemporaneity of the music presented is astonishing. The album opens and closes with Krzysztof Knittel's 1980s compositions, "Lapis" and "Poko," and perfectly encapsu-late his descriptions of his experiences in the studio: "We acted without any initial plans or elec-tronic scores, there were no goals to be achieved, no creative method defined in advance. We used our aesthetic and technological knowledge freely, the shapes of tracks emerged during our shared work in the studio."

The album also includes "Mictlan I" (1987) and "Yes and No," (1990) two stunning works by Magdalena D?ugosz, who studied composition with Krystyna Moszuma?ska-Nazar and music theory with Józef Patkowski. Since 1979 she has been teaching in the Electroacoustic Music Stu-dio at the Academy of Music in Kraków.

Also featured is the avant-garde composer El?bieta Sikora, Knittel's fellow member from the KEW Composers' Group, with her stark pieces "Letters to M" and "View from the Window," (1971), and Barbara Zawadzka, whose "Greya" (1988) is meant to evoke different sequencings of the colour grey. In this piece, particularly, it's hard not to appreciate the similarity to Kulik's notion of sequencing and transformation of objects.

Bernadetta Matuszczak's "Libera me" (1991) is an example of a somewhat different creative ex-perience. In a radio interview conducted by Marek Zwyrzykowski in 1992, the composer stated that she wasn't intending to discover any "extraordinary electronic effects"; instead, she focused on the piece's "expressive layer." With the help of Tadeusz Sudnik from PRES, she incorporated into "Libera Me" the characteristic melody from the Polish version of the Orthodox hymn "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal" and then combined it with sounds of explosions and instru-mental recordings, a veiled response to the US's interventions during the Gulf War.

Eugeniusz Rudnik, the composer and sound engineer whose name is among those most strongly associated with PRES, contributes with his "Epitaph for Stones," (1984) a dedication to Jerzy Popie?uszko, the Polish Roman Catholic priest associated with the Solidarity trade union and an-ti-communist movement who was murdered by the Security Service. Bohdan Mazurek, who took over the reins of the studio from Rudnik in 1962 is also included with his piece "Canti" (1973).

As mentioned above, the album also includes W?odzimierz Koto?ski's seminal "Concrete etude, Study for One Cymbal Stroke," a piece sourced from the single stroke of a mid-sized Turkish cymbal; it is often considered to be an important starting point for the development of experi-mental music in Poland. And, finally, the album features two performances of Bogus?aw Schaeffer's "Symphony. Electronic Music," the first by Bohdan Mazurek which remains very close to the composer's score, and a contemporary version by Wolfram, which takes much more creative liberties.

In a text about his seminal work, Schaeffer stated that he "decided to include the factor of inter-pretation in a work that was greatly precise by nature" underlining the importance of shifting el-ements: "the development of music lies in individual elements shifting in the hierarchy of their functions." Indeed, an interest in shifting hierarchies seems present in Kulik's powerful images and most of the sound pieces contained in this release. When the Polish Radio appointed Eu-geniusz Rudnik to present PRES's technical capabilities to a conservative delegation of Soviet composers, he was met with a bitter reply: "Would it sound just as bad, if you played it back-wards?" asked the rigid composers. Rudnick's answer was to create "Skalary," (1966) a multi-version piece which could be played from start to finish and from finish to start, at different speeds, as well as with altered left and right channel distribution. This modular openness calls to mind the empty sheet in Kulik's images. Whatever the context, its static emptiness creates space for a different reality than that which those in power had in mind. This brings us back to Kulik's thoughts on her experiences as a student in the late 60s, a pivotal time in which she determined the process of looking and listening was central to reality itself, thereby shattering the rigidity of traditional forms and religio-political power: "I decided that as a static item, an object can never be real-it's possible only in the process of looking at it."
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LP

CENIZAS WAS WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY NICOLAS JAAR BETWEEN 2017-2019. MASTERING BY RASHAD BECKER ART BY MAZIYAR PAHLEVAN
MIXING BY NICOLAS JAAR AND PATRICK HIGGINS
* In 2019, Patrick Higgins and Nicolas Jaar mixed some of the record in Higgins' Future- Past studios in Hudson NY and Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan. Additional mixing was done in Figure8 Studios in Brooklyn by Nicola?s.


8/10 Resident Advisor - Cenizas is an LP of significant gravitas from an artist with among the largest and most engaged followings in electronic music

8.0 Pitchfork - Given all the technical ground Cenizas covers, Jarr is an impressively meticulous guide. Every pluck, ping, buzz, scratch, and whistle is intentional, a bump in the tunnel as you slide down the rabbit hole

9/10 Loud & Quiet - Jaar's music has always been deeply preoccupied with atmosphere, and Cenizas is a deeply atmospheric album. It sounds like a void. As you listen, you feel like you could fall into it and never find your way out. In that way, these 54 minutes feel like a sequel to Jaar's first hit, Space is Only Noise, set 5,000 years in the future. He told us then. He's showing us now.


NICOLAS JAAR BIOGRAPHY

NICOLAS JAAR is a Chilean sound maker born in 1990. He is known in the club world for his various dance 12?? EPs and remixes he put out from 2008 to 2011. Since his first full length (SPACE IS ONLY NOISE, 2011), he has embarked in multiple divergent path.
For the last 7 years, he has released a large volume of recordings through his label OTHER PEOPLE (including music by LYDIA LUNCH, WILLIAM BASINSKI, PATRICK HIGGINS, DJ SLUGO, LUCRETIA DALT, PIERRE BASTIEN & TOMAGA, VTGNIKE and others).
In 2015, Nicolas scored DHEEPAN by director JACQUES AUDIARD (winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2015).
In 2016, Jaar launched THE NETWORK, a web of 111 fictional radio stations done in collaboration with artists JENA MYUNG and MAZIYAR PAHLEVAN. A batch of these mixes was aired on NTS radio and is archived here: (https://bit.ly/35PwrHu). In 2017, THE NETWORK became a book, published by PRINTED MATTER In NY.
In the spring of 2019, Jaar was commissioned for a 9 hour improvisation in the OUDE KERK CHURCH in Amsterdam which he performed alongside two organists and a dozen surround speakers pointed at the ceiling of the church.
Nicola?s is currently curating a residency for sound artists in the West Bank that takes place in a 130 year-old converted food storage shack in Bethlehem (within the DAR YUSUF NASRI JACIR FOR ART AND RESEARCH)
Residents so far include composer SEBASTIAN JATZ RAWICZ and researcher and artist ROLANDO HERNANDEZ.
In the fall of 2019, he presented INCOMPREHENSIBLE SUN, a sound and light installation in a 200-meter-long ex-military shooting range in Zaandam (The Netherlands) and RETAINING THE ENERGY, BUT LOSING THE IMAGE alongside artist VINCENT DE BELLEVAL which consisted of 10 large rotating parabolic reflectors that capture and emit hyper-focalized surround sound.
For the first SHARJAH ARCHITECTURE TRIENNALE (curated by ADRIAN LAHOUD IN 2019) Nicola?s performed a piece for 16 buried speakers in the desert near the MLEIHA ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTRE.
Nicola?s has collaborated with artist LYDIA OURAHMANE (MUSIC FOR TWO SEAS, Stromboli), FKA TWIGS (MAGDALENE), and PATRICK HIGGINS under the name AEAEA. He is also a current member of improvisational ensemble ¡MIE?RCOLES! alongside dancer and choreographer STEPHANIE JANAINA, founding member of research collective SHOCK FOREST GROUP, and half of the band DARKSIDE

Tracklist:

1 Vanish
2 Menysid
3 Cenizas
4 Agosto
5 Gocce
6 Mud
7 Vacíar
8 Sunder
9 Hello, Chain
10 Rubble
11 Garden
12 Xerox
13 Faith Made of Silk

More

- 2LP is mastered for Exceptional Sound

LTD Edition includes : 2LP + Book + OCard + Clear PVC Sleeve

CENIZAS WAS WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY NICOLAS JAAR BETWEEN 2017-2019. MASTERING BY RASHAD BECKER ART BY MAZIYAR PAHLEVAN
MIXING BY NICOLAS JAAR AND PATRICK HIGGINS
* In 2019, Patrick Higgins and Nicolas Jaar mixed some of the record in Higgins' Future- Past studios in Hudson NY and Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan. Additional mixing was done in Figure8 Studios in Brooklyn by Nicola?s.


8/10 Resident Advisor - Cenizas is an LP of significant gravitas from an artist with among the largest and most engaged followings in electronic music

8.0 Pitchfork - Given all the technical ground Cenizas covers, Jarr is an impressively meticulous guide. Every pluck, ping, buzz, scratch, and whistle is intentional, a bump in the tunnel as you slide down the rabbit hole

9/10 Loud & Quiet - Jaar's music has always been deeply preoccupied with atmosphere, and Cenizas is a deeply atmospheric album. It sounds like a void. As you listen, you feel like you could fall into it and never find your way out. In that way, these 54 minutes feel like a sequel to Jaar's first hit, Space is Only Noise, set 5,000 years in the future. He told us then. He's showing us now.


NICOLAS JAAR BIOGRAPHY

NICOLAS JAAR is a Chilean sound maker born in 1990. He is known in the club world for his various dance 12?? EPs and remixes he put out from 2008 to 2011. Since his first full length (SPACE IS ONLY NOISE, 2011), he has embarked in multiple divergent path.
For the last 7 years, he has released a large volume of recordings through his label OTHER PEOPLE (including music by LYDIA LUNCH, WILLIAM BASINSKI, PATRICK HIGGINS, DJ SLUGO, LUCRETIA DALT, PIERRE BASTIEN & TOMAGA, VTGNIKE and others).
In 2015, Nicolas scored DHEEPAN by director JACQUES AUDIARD (winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2015).
In 2016, Jaar launched THE NETWORK, a web of 111 fictional radio stations done in collaboration with artists JENA MYUNG and MAZIYAR PAHLEVAN. A batch of these mixes was aired on NTS radio and is archived here: (https://bit.ly/35PwrHu). In 2017, THE NETWORK became a book, published by PRINTED MATTER In NY.
In the spring of 2019, Jaar was commissioned for a 9 hour improvisation in the OUDE KERK CHURCH in Amsterdam which he performed alongside two organists and a dozen surround speakers pointed at the ceiling of the church.
Nicola?s is currently curating a residency for sound artists in the West Bank that takes place in a 130 year-old converted food storage shack in Bethlehem (within the DAR YUSUF NASRI JACIR FOR ART AND RESEARCH)
Residents so far include composer SEBASTIAN JATZ RAWICZ and researcher and artist ROLANDO HERNANDEZ.
In the fall of 2019, he presented INCOMPREHENSIBLE SUN, a sound and light installation in a 200-meter-long ex-military shooting range in Zaandam (The Netherlands) and RETAINING THE ENERGY, BUT LOSING THE IMAGE alongside artist VINCENT DE BELLEVAL which consisted of 10 large rotating parabolic reflectors that capture and emit hyper-focalized surround sound.
For the first SHARJAH ARCHITECTURE TRIENNALE (curated by ADRIAN LAHOUD IN 2019) Nicola?s performed a piece for 16 buried speakers in the desert near the MLEIHA ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTRE.
Nicola?s has collaborated with artist LYDIA OURAHMANE (MUSIC FOR TWO SEAS, Stromboli), FKA TWIGS (MAGDALENE), and PATRICK HIGGINS under the name AEAEA. He is also a current member of improvisational ensemble ¡MIE?RCOLES! alongside dancer and choreographer STEPHANIE JANAINA, founding member of research collective SHOCK FOREST GROUP, and half of the band DARKSIDE

Tracklist:

1 Vanish
2 Menysid
3 Cenizas
4 Agosto
5 Gocce
6 Mud
7 Vacíar
8 Sunder
9 Hello, Chain
10 Rubble
11 Garden
12 Xerox
13 Faith Made of Silk

More

LTD CD : CD + Book + Clear PVC Sleeve

CENIZAS WAS WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY NICOLAS JAAR BETWEEN 2017-2019. MASTERING BY RASHAD BECKER ART BY MAZIYAR PAHLEVAN
MIXING BY NICOLAS JAAR AND PATRICK HIGGINS
* In 2019, Patrick Higgins and Nicolas Jaar mixed some of the record in Higgins' Future- Past studios in Hudson NY and Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan. Additional mixing was done in Figure8 Studios in Brooklyn by Nicola?s.


8/10 Resident Advisor - Cenizas is an LP of significant gravitas from an artist with among the largest and most engaged followings in electronic music

8.0 Pitchfork - Given all the technical ground Cenizas covers, Jarr is an impressively meticulous guide. Every pluck, ping, buzz, scratch, and whistle is intentional, a bump in the tunnel as you slide down the rabbit hole

9/10 Loud & Quiet - Jaar's music has always been deeply preoccupied with atmosphere, and Cenizas is a deeply atmospheric album. It sounds like a void. As you listen, you feel like you could fall into it and never find your way out. In that way, these 54 minutes feel like a sequel to Jaar's first hit, Space is Only Noise, set 5,000 years in the future. He told us then. He's showing us now.


NICOLAS JAAR BIOGRAPHY

NICOLAS JAAR is a Chilean sound maker born in 1990. He is known in the club world for his various dance 12?? EPs and remixes he put out from 2008 to 2011. Since his first full length (SPACE IS ONLY NOISE, 2011), he has embarked in multiple divergent path.
For the last 7 years, he has released a large volume of recordings through his label OTHER PEOPLE (including music by LYDIA LUNCH, WILLIAM BASINSKI, PATRICK HIGGINS, DJ SLUGO, LUCRETIA DALT, PIERRE BASTIEN & TOMAGA, VTGNIKE and others).
In 2015, Nicolas scored DHEEPAN by director JACQUES AUDIARD (winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2015).
In 2016, Jaar launched THE NETWORK, a web of 111 fictional radio stations done in collaboration with artists JENA MYUNG and MAZIYAR PAHLEVAN. A batch of these mixes was aired on NTS radio and is archived here: (https://bit.ly/35PwrHu). In 2017, THE NETWORK became a book, published by PRINTED MATTER In NY.
In the spring of 2019, Jaar was commissioned for a 9 hour improvisation in the OUDE KERK CHURCH in Amsterdam which he performed alongside two organists and a dozen surround speakers pointed at the ceiling of the church.
Nicola?s is currently curating a residency for sound artists in the West Bank that takes place in a 130 year-old converted food storage shack in Bethlehem (within the DAR YUSUF NASRI JACIR FOR ART AND RESEARCH)
Residents so far include composer SEBASTIAN JATZ RAWICZ and researcher and artist ROLANDO HERNANDEZ.
In the fall of 2019, he presented INCOMPREHENSIBLE SUN, a sound and light installation in a 200-meter-long ex-military shooting range in Zaandam (The Netherlands) and RETAINING THE ENERGY, BUT LOSING THE IMAGE alongside artist VINCENT DE BELLEVAL which consisted of 10 large rotating parabolic reflectors that capture and emit hyper-focalized surround sound.
For the first SHARJAH ARCHITECTURE TRIENNALE (curated by ADRIAN LAHOUD IN 2019) Nicola?s performed a piece for 16 buried speakers in the desert near the MLEIHA ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTRE.
Nicola?s has collaborated with artist LYDIA OURAHMANE (MUSIC FOR TWO SEAS, Stromboli), FKA TWIGS (MAGDALENE), and PATRICK HIGGINS under the name AEAEA. He is also a current member of improvisational ensemble ¡MIE?RCOLES! alongside dancer and choreographer STEPHANIE JANAINA, founding member of research collective SHOCK FOREST GROUP, and half of the band DARKSIDE

Tracklist:

1 Vanish
2 Menysid
3 Cenizas
4 Agosto
5 Gocce
6 Mud
7 Vacíar
8 Sunder
9 Hello, Chain
10 Rubble
11 Garden
12 Xerox
13 Faith Made of Silk

More

CD Version

CENIZAS WAS WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY NICOLAS JAAR BETWEEN 2017-2019. MASTERING BY RASHAD BECKER ART BY MAZIYAR PAHLEVAN
MIXING BY NICOLAS JAAR AND PATRICK HIGGINS
* In 2019, Patrick Higgins and Nicolas Jaar mixed some of the record in Higgins' Future- Past studios in Hudson NY and Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan. Additional mixing was done in Figure8 Studios in Brooklyn by Nicola?s.


8/10 Resident Advisor - Cenizas is an LP of significant gravitas from an artist with among the largest and most engaged followings in electronic music

8.0 Pitchfork - Given all the technical ground Cenizas covers, Jarr is an impressively meticulous guide. Every pluck, ping, buzz, scratch, and whistle is intentional, a bump in the tunnel as you slide down the rabbit hole

9/10 Loud & Quiet - Jaar's music has always been deeply preoccupied with atmosphere, and Cenizas is a deeply atmospheric album. It sounds like a void. As you listen, you feel like you could fall into it and never find your way out. In that way, these 54 minutes feel like a sequel to Jaar's first hit, Space is Only Noise, set 5,000 years in the future. He told us then. He's showing us now.


NICOLAS JAAR BIOGRAPHY

NICOLAS JAAR is a Chilean sound maker born in 1990. He is known in the club world for his various dance 12?? EPs and remixes he put out from 2008 to 2011. Since his first full length (SPACE IS ONLY NOISE, 2011), he has embarked in multiple divergent path.
For the last 7 years, he has released a large volume of recordings through his label OTHER PEOPLE (including music by LYDIA LUNCH, WILLIAM BASINSKI, PATRICK HIGGINS, DJ SLUGO, LUCRETIA DALT, PIERRE BASTIEN & TOMAGA, VTGNIKE and others).
In 2015, Nicolas scored DHEEPAN by director JACQUES AUDIARD (winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2015).
In 2016, Jaar launched THE NETWORK, a web of 111 fictional radio stations done in collaboration with artists JENA MYUNG and MAZIYAR PAHLEVAN. A batch of these mixes was aired on NTS radio and is archived here: (https://bit.ly/35PwrHu). In 2017, THE NETWORK became a book, published by PRINTED MATTER In NY.
In the spring of 2019, Jaar was commissioned for a 9 hour improvisation in the OUDE KERK CHURCH in Amsterdam which he performed alongside two organists and a dozen surround speakers pointed at the ceiling of the church.
Nicola?s is currently curating a residency for sound artists in the West Bank that takes place in a 130 year-old converted food storage shack in Bethlehem (within the DAR YUSUF NASRI JACIR FOR ART AND RESEARCH)
Residents so far include composer SEBASTIAN JATZ RAWICZ and researcher and artist ROLANDO HERNANDEZ.
In the fall of 2019, he presented INCOMPREHENSIBLE SUN, a sound and light installation in a 200-meter-long ex-military shooting range in Zaandam (The Netherlands) and RETAINING THE ENERGY, BUT LOSING THE IMAGE alongside artist VINCENT DE BELLEVAL which consisted of 10 large rotating parabolic reflectors that capture and emit hyper-focalized surround sound.
For the first SHARJAH ARCHITECTURE TRIENNALE (curated by ADRIAN LAHOUD IN 2019) Nicola?s performed a piece for 16 buried speakers in the desert near the MLEIHA ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTRE.
Nicola?s has collaborated with artist LYDIA OURAHMANE (MUSIC FOR TWO SEAS, Stromboli), FKA TWIGS (MAGDALENE), and PATRICK HIGGINS under the name AEAEA. He is also a current member of improvisational ensemble ¡MIE?RCOLES! alongside dancer and choreographer STEPHANIE JANAINA, founding member of research collective SHOCK FOREST GROUP, and half of the band DARKSIDE

Tracklist:

1 Vanish
2 Menysid
3 Cenizas
4 Agosto
5 Gocce
6 Mud
7 Vacíar
8 Sunder
9 Hello, Chain
10 Rubble
11 Garden
12 Xerox
13 Faith Made of Silk

More

AAL 3LP '2017-2019' on Other People featuring Lydia Lunch.
F = vinyl-only edit

Tracklist 3LP

A1. Fantasy
A2. If Loving You Is Wrong
B. With An Addict
C1. If You Can't Do It Good, Do It Hard feat. Lydia Lunch
C2. Alarm
C3. Deeeeeeefers
D. Faith
E1. Penny
E2. You (Forever)
F. Vinyl-Only Edit More

AAL Single 12" on Other People featuring Lydia Lunch and FKA twigs.

Tracklist EP


A Illusions Of Shameless Abundance
Featuring – Lydia Lunch

B Alucinao
Feat. Estado Unido & FKA twigs
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The Standard Edition - Territory - NO Sales to Japan
Ryo Fukui's 1976 highly sought-after jazz masterpiece SCENERY-
LP Edition: Mastered at half speed, 140g vinyl, Sticker

We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records' new sister-label) is proud to present its first release, the official reissue of Ryo Fukui's highly sought-after masterpiece Scenery (1976), sourced from the original masters and available on limited edition 180g vinyl mastered at half speed for audiophile sound and on digipack CD.

Unquestionably one of the most important Japanese jazz albums ever recorded, Scenery reveals Ryo Fukui as a miraculously brilliant self-taught pianist fusing modal, bop, and cool jazz influences for a very personal, dexterous and game-changing take on classic standards made famous by Bing Crosby and John Coltrane among others. From "It Could Happen To You" and its serene and calm intro which magically flows into a jubilant and upbeat piece, to the out-of-this-world piano solo of "Early Summer", or the incredible teamwork of "Autumn Leaves" where Fukui leads Satoshi Denpo (bass) and Yoshinori Fukui (drums) into groove heaven, every single note on the album oozes precision, confidence and flair and every single section slides seamlessly into one another, creating a supreme and elegant blend of jazz. Often compared to McCoy Tyner or Bill Evans, Ryo Fukui was a genius in his own right, a true master of his craft whose perfectionism gave birth to some of the greatest music ever recorded. Scenery is his magnum opus and an absolute must-have.

The Hokkaido wizard-pianist followed Scenery with the soulful gem Mellow Dream (also available on We Release Jazz) in 1977. He then focused on improving his live skills, often performing at Sapporo's Slowboat Jazz Club (which he co-founded with his wife Yasuko Fukui) and releasing 2 live albums. Ryo Fukui sadly passed away in March 2016, leaving behind a legacy of works that is sure to captivate jazz lovers for generations to come.


Tracklisting Vinyl LP
A1 It Could Happen To You
A2 I Want To Talk About You
A3 Early Summer
B1 Willow Weep For Me
B2 Autumn Leaves
B3 Scenery
More

No sales to Japan!

LP: 180g vinyl, half speed mastered, heavy sleeve, obi, gold ink
Genre: Jazz, Fusion, Funk

Tracklisting LP
A1. Shrimp Dance
A2. Kuro To Shiro
B1. Walk Tall
B2. Cat
B3. Romance


Info

We Release Jazz is ecstatic (purrrr!) to announce the official reissue of Hiroshi Suzuki's glorious jazz-fusion-funk Holy Grail Cat (originally released in 1976), sourced from the original masters and available on limited edition 180 gram vinyl mastered at half speed for full audiophile sound, as well as on digipack CD. Both versions come with liner notes by Teruo Isono.
Cat was recorded in October 1975 at at Nippon Columbia Studio, while Hiroshi Suzuki was visiting his home country of Japan after moving to Las Vegas in 1971 to play with Buddy Rich and perfect his craft. Back on his old stomping grounds, the man known as Neko (Cat) immediately reunited with his dear friends for an epic two day session of groove magic. The chemistry was still intact. The skills and style had grown.
The result, Cat, is a smooth masterpiece, a deep and soulful affair where stunning trombone solos by Hiroshi Suzuki flirt with Takeru Muraoka's heavenly saxophone and the sensual rhythm section of Hiromasa Suzuki (keyboards), Kunimitsu Inaba (bass), and Akira Ishikawa (drums).
Celebrated in jazz collectors circles, in the lofi beat scene, and among music diggers around the world, Cat has become one of the most sought-after Japanese jazz albums of all time and, much like Ryo Fukui's Scenery, has fascinated old and young generations alike.

Points of interests

- For fans of jazz, fusion, funk, trombone, Japanese jazz, smooth rides, cats, allure.

- Official reissue of the glorious jazz-fusion album by Japanese trombonist extraordinaire Hiroshi "Neko" Suzuki.

- 10th release from We Release Jazz, following Ryo Fukui's Scenery, Mellow Dream, A Letter from Slowboat, and Ryo Fukui in New York, the soundtrack of Le Cercle Rouge by Eric Demarsan, Stuff Combe 5 + Percussion, Marc Moulin's Placebo Live 1971 and Boillat Thérace Quintet albums. We Release Jazz is the sister-label of Geneva-based WRWTFWW Records (Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass and Lunar Cruise with Masahiko Sato, Pierre Barouh's Le Pollen, Jun Fuka-machi's Nicole, Grauzone's discography, …)
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Territories: Worldwide no restrictions

Format Notes: First time vinyl release, 140g vinyl

Track List:

A1 Dance In The Dust
A2 Amber Whispers
A3 Where Were We
A4 The Lights Of Kinshasa
A5 Pictures Of You

----

B1 Serendipity For Two
B2 Smiles By The Millions
B3 Higher Still
B4 Oriental
B5 Days To Wonder
B6 Dawn Of Europa
B7 Crystal Falls
B8 Purple Lines


Release Notes:

Synth pioneer and musical polymath, Wally Badarou is a genius. But you know that already. A vinyl version of his majestic Colors Of Silence has been craved by the Balearic cognoscenti ever since its low-key 2001 release. Indeed, when we first started work on Be With, we asked some pals with exquisite taste what their dream release would be. We asked Balearic legend Moonboots and, without hesitation, he said Colors Of Silence by Wally Badarou. We didn't know Wally had made this album. And most still don't. But that's about to change.

Colors Of Silence is ostensibly a new age album. As ever though, Wally's sophisticated synth textures and expressive keyboard runs are so full of character, so full of life, that this work of art transcends any easy genre categorisation. It's simply stunning, throughout. It sounds like A.r.t. Wilson or Suzanne Kraft, with traces of CFCF and Jonny Nash. But it was made a good decade earlier than the work of these modern giants. Sometimes, it doesn't seem far from some Larry Heard albums.

Island Records founder Chris Blackwell's friend Nathalie Delon asked Wally to provide music for the yoga DVD she was to release. Lack of time on both sides made them agree on using "quality demos" Wally had in his ideas bank. It's understandable why Colors Of Silence remains somewhat of a lost gem. As Wally explains: "Total lack of promotion made it an 'intimate' release, which was exactly what I was looking for: just a buzz-maker and time-buyer that would allow me to concentrate on the real thing as soon as I'd have time, which could also turn into a rare collecting item later, once the final versions made their way to success. You never know."

Over the years, Colors Of Silence has become a true cult record for the ambient/Balearic heads.

The beguiling but brief "Dance In The Dust" is the shuffling, hyper-percussive, hypnotic opener. It gives way to the deep serenity of "Amber Whispers". It's a gliding, divine, mini melodic masterpiece. It'll make you swoon in its extreme beauty. The bright and breezy "Where Were We" follows, a tropical, reggae-tinged bounce through the islands.

The uptempo groove is maintained on the keys-drizzled soca-funk of "The Lights Of Kinshasa" before Side A is rounded out with "Pictures Of You". It starts with stately, melancholic, unadorned piano and this alone would make for a beautiful song. But Wally always gives us that bit extra and he effortlessly introduces warm, dreamy pads and minimal, slo-mo percussion to augment a frankly stunning piece of work.

Ushering in Side B, Wally's mesmeric piano playing is to the fore again, in the intro to uber-chilled "Serendipity For Two". The playing becomes more mellifluous as the track progresses and adds warmth through exotic percussion, woodwind, sweeping synths and digi-drums. It has echoes of, er, Echoes. It segues seamlessly into the more propulsive, wavy "Smiles By The Millions". If you're not nodding and grinning along widely to the gently throbbing bassline underpinning this, we can't help you. The meditative "Higher Still" follows, cinematic in feel and ever so slightly sinister with the strings. It sounds particularly Badalamenti-esque, if you ask us.

That unmistakable, almost peculiar Badarou funk - so lyrical, so texturally rich and so rhythmically spacious - is all over "Oriental". Next up, "Days To Wonder" brings the serenity back, insistent yet melodic keys, as if played in a place of worship, coupled with birdsong, conjure a kind of instant nostalgia for halcyon days of youth. The contemplative "Dawn Of Europa" is a sombre, beatless, ambient journey whilst the glorious, too-brief "Crystal Falls" features soft percussion and sparkle before fully glistening with some gentle head-nod beats. Wally brings this incredible collection to a mellow, tender close with the graceful "Purple Lines".

There can be few artists more under-appreciated given their vast influence than Wally Badarou. His solo work practically defined the sound of the Balearic DJs of the 1980s, and thus the more sophisticated sound of dance culture thereafter. A synth specialist, Badarou was the long-time associate of Level 42. He was one of the Compass Point All Stars (with Sly and Robbie, Barry Reynolds, Mikey Chung and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson), the in-house recording team of Compass Point Studios responsible for a series of albums in the 1980s recorded by Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club, Mick Jagger, Black Uhuru, Gwen Guthrie, Jimmy Cliff and Gregory Isaacs. Badarou's keyboard playing could also be heard on albums by Robert Palmer, Marianne Faithfull, Herbie Hancock, M (Pop Muzik), Talking Heads, Manu Dibango and Miriam Makeba. He also produced Fela Kuti. Phew!

Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland. Special thanks must go to Apiento from Test Pressing who first introduced us to Wally and facilitated all those early zoom meetings. It couldn't have happened without his help. Not least on pulling the art together, too, which features striking original photography by Mads Perch. Benji Roebuck of Roebuck Press did his thing brilliantly in art working the whole package to completion. All in all: essential. More

The Standard Edition - Territory - NO Sales to Japan
Ryo Fukui's 1976 highly sought-after follow up to SCENERY!
LP Edition: Mastered at half speed, 140g vinyl, Sticker

We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records' new sister-label) is thrilled to present the official reissue of criminally overlooked Japanese jazz gem Mellow Dream (1977) by Hokkaido pianist wunderkind Ryo Fukui, released in conjunction with the its legendary predecessor Scenery, sourced from the original masters and mastered at half speed.

Firmly standing on the foundation he laid down with Scenery, Ryo Fukui continues his exploration of modal, bop and cool jazz sounds with meticulous grace and absolute mastery. As its title suggests, Mellow Dream ventures into slightly mellower, more soulful, and sometimes more contemplative territories (the Bill Evans-reminiscent "Mellow Dream" and "My Foolish Heart") while still packing the commanding punch Fukui's work is loved for, as heard on the amazingly bombastic "Baron Potato Blues" or the gigantic McCoy Tyner/John Coltrane-influenced "Horizon" which sees each member of the trio (Satoshi Denpo is on bass and Yoshinori Fukui is on drums) demonstrating their virtuosity for 9 exhilarating minutes. With his sophomore album, Ryo Fukui swings from melancholy to vibrant joy with ease, reminding us that jazz is best served with a pinch of blues, and displays an immensely rare combination of pure talent, unique personal approach and focused discipline. The man undeniably deserves a spot in the pantheon of all-time great jazz pianists.

After releasing the outstanding Scenery and Mellow Dream back to back, Ryo Fukui worked on developing his live skills, often performing at Sapporo's Slowboat Jazz Club (which he co-founded with his wife Yasuko Fukui), and even releasing 2 live albums. He sadly passed away in March 2016, leaving behind a legacy of works that all jazz lovers should explore.


Tracklisting Vinyl LP
A1 Mellow Dream
A2 My Foolish Heart
A3 Baron Potato Blues
B1 What's New
B2 Horizon
B3 My Funny Valentine

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Territories: World ex Japan More

Tracklist:
A1) Finite Jest 01:09 min
A2) Running To Chris 03:04 min
A3) Wild Ride 02:48 min
A4) Sacramento 03:55 min
A5) You Can’t Put Your Arm Around A Memory 03:03 min
B1) Chasing It (Again) 03:44 min
B2) Big City 03:20 min
B3) Body High 01:39 min
B4) Stockholm 06:08 min

Short info:
When he‘s not writing or recording, Baba Stiltz immerses in fearless fiction by the likes of Denis
Johnson and Dodie Bellamy; prose where pedestrian details become transcendent in aggregate and
the inner lives of marginal characters are examined as though they were kings. A similar thesis runs
through „Paid Testimony“, the essential second tape of minimalist guitar music from the FilipinoAmerican-Swedish artist.
In recent years, Stiltz has made like Lee Hazelwood‘s Cowboy In Sweden in reverse, making annual
pilgrimages from Stockholm to California and reconnecting with his roots via a guitar and a Fostex 4-
track. He‘s drawn to the less glamorous corners of the golden state, an observant habitué of unkempt
streets and dive bars stretching from LA to Vacaville. It‘s a long stretch from the jetset techno clubs
where Baba originally plied his musical trade, but it‘s where he finds characters and ideas worth
writing about.
The characters on „Paid Testimony“ are on the edge and on the run. Surrounded by flawed men with
big schemes since childhood, he extrapolates characters who plot bank heists and order milk and
vodka in AM hours, the type of confrontation- prone characters who „say some shit, make everyone
uncomfortable and then just split.“ To focus on the rawness
of this document would discount the humor and sympathy with which he treats his characters, not to
mention the subtly- psychedelic songwriting recalling David Berman, early Smog, the original indie
rock minimalist poets.
On the final song, Stiltz looks back on the city that raised him, „Stockholm,“ referencing „young
professionals carelessly living“ before adding „I can‘t say I‘m not jealous even though I live my life just
like they do.“ There‘s an honesty in the small details revealed on „Paid Testimony“, and a defined
sense of place, be it Stockholm, Sacramento or some dim barroom across from the Bank Of America.
Baba doesn‘t quite fit in anywhere. This outsider quality has often been used as a marketing tool, yet
here, it lends a writerly aspect to the proceedings, an unreality to the everyday.

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Territories: Worldwide no restrictions

Format Notes:

Part of Bobby Caldwell Reissue Campaign, 2023 first time reissue, 140g vinyl


Track List:

A1 Special To Me 4:00
A2 My Flame 3:30
A3 Love Won't Wait 4:00
A4 Can't Say Goodbye 5:20

B1 Come To Me 2:52
B2 What You Won't Do For Love 4:45
B3 Kalimba Song 2:00
B4 Take Me Back To Then 3:30
B5 Down For The Third Time 3:30

Release Notes:

Known principally as a smooth titan of blue-eyed soul, Bobby Caldwell transcended genre tags with consummate ease; he was a musical icon of real class and versatility, cherished the world over. Tragically passing away in March 2023 at the too young age of 71, it still feels as if Bobby's true artistry is profoundly under-appreciated. His double platinum self-titled album from 1978 is a timeless masterpiece of sophisticated jazzy soul brilliance and is strictly canonical. Yes, it's perfect, yet it's been out of press on vinyl for years. We're deeply honoured to present the long-awaited reissue this summer.

Whilst Ned Doheny is known in Japan as "Mr California", native New Yorker Bobby Caldwell has always been "Mr AOR" to his Far-Eastern friends. His distinct charm is an irresistible blend of soul, jazz, and pop influences. He possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances, was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful, sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted.

String-swept opener "Special To Me" immediately sets the tone with its lush instrumentation, rich harmonies, and Caldwell's velvety-smooth vocals. Next up, a huge one. The infectious, mid-tempo bounce of "My Flame" showcases Caldwell's ability to effortlessly blend catchy pop hooks with soulful arrangements. It's an exquisite, emotive ballad that, at the same time, absolutely SLAPS. Game recognise game, and all that, so, accordingly, Notorious B.I.G. memorably ran with “My Flame” for his 1997 single “Sky’s The Limit”. The rolling, disco-very "Love Won't Wait" is a slick, uptempo track containing heartfelt lyrics intertwined with elegant strings and a horn section to die for. Aching - and achingly cool - single "Can't Say Goodbye" is a real fan favourite, and it's no surprise. It's a laconic, slow-mo jazz-funk stepper, with fantastic, very deliberate playing that closes out the A Side quite exceptionally. "Come To Me" slows proceedings down elegantly to open Side B before the universally agreed-upon masterpiece enters proceedings.

"What You Won't Do for Love," the standout hit that became a classic in its own right, perfectly captured Bobby's ability to infuse a contagious groove with introspective and relatable lyrics. With its instantly recognisable horn riff and Caldwell's soulful delivery, this timeless, chiller anthem continues to captivate audiences and define his musical legacy. He scored huge with the track, taking over the pop and R&B airways with this mellow soul stepper. It has remained a perennial favourite and has been heavily sampled, such is its unique allure; Aaliyah sang over snatches of it on "Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number" and you can hear Caldwell’s vocal sample used for the hook on Tupac’s posthumously released “Do For Love”.

Upon submitting the finished album to his label, they requested more material in hope of a big single. As Bobby remembered to Wax Poetics a few years ago: “Now at this point, I’m mentally exhausted...and bear in mind that I got so close to all the songs I’d written. I gave each song a profound amount of thought, and maybe too much. So, in haste, I went in and cut this song, "What You Won’t Do For Love". Wrote it in a day, cut the rhythm track, overdubbed the horns, I sang the song, and literally turned it in three days after. And lo and behold, the one song I gave the least thought to,” Bobby laughed, “ended up being a national anthem.”

The mysterious, magical "Kalimba Song" is a cosmic, kalimba-driven melodic-funk instrumental - short but oh, so sweet. It's followed by the supreme tear-jerker "Take Me Back To Then", Bobby's otherworldly voice deeply longing for a simpler time, "when life was mellow". I think we can all get behind this sentiment. The final cut is arguably its deepest, its low-key finest moment. For us, it is, anyway. The glorious, driving, effortlessly funky guitar-soul jam "Down For The Third Time" is a huge melancholic Be With favourite and has been played by discerning genre-hopping DJs with significant glee for years. Hypnotic, melodic, beautiful. Like the album it elegantly rounds out.

Bobby sadly passed away on 23rd March 2023, after a long struggle with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, due to an adverse effect from a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The reissue of his wonderful eponymous album will be available on vinyl across the globe, ensuring that fans of his incomparable talent - and soul music enthusiasts worldwide - can radiate in the deep beauty of this seminal album. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland. More

Vinyl only. Worldwide except Japan.

LP: 350gsm Sleeve with selected UV High Gloss Varnish, Liner Notes, Sticker

Tracklisting

A1. Shüffer
A2. Pokala
A3. Glass Chime
A4. Pon
A5. Wässer
B1. Mizue
B2. Collecting Net
B3. Apple Star
B4. Meine Reflexion
B5. 8.31


Info

WRWTFWW Records is too happy to announce the much anticipated official reissue of Japanese duo Inoyamaland’s quintessential ambient/environmental/electronic album Danzindan-Pojidon, produced by Haruomi Hosono and originally released in 1983 on his Yen Records label. Available outside of Japan for the first time, the new age classic comes as a limited LP with liner notes by band member Makoto Inoue.

With Danzindan-Pojidon, Yasushi Yamashita and Makoto Inoue created what they describe as "a special place where the kingdom of summer vacation never ended". Playful and magical, it’s a sonic landscape defined by tinkling synths, floating minimalist melodies, pastoral excursions, and mythical overtones. The 10-track adventure takes the listener on a joyful audio exploration of unknown but friendly territories, like childhood memories of an imaginary island where everything is vibrantly alive and peaceful.

The original recording sessions for the album took place in an apartment filled with Inoyamaland’s "favorite things and friends" and the wonders that came out of them were handed to master Harry Hosono who added his undeniable genius touch. And thus Danzindan-Pojidon was born, an absolute must-have, sitting in the pantheon of all-time 80s Japanese ambient greats alongside Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass, Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Green, and Satoshi Ashikawa’s Still Way - and holding that mysterious power of "music that makes life a little easier and happier".


Points of interests

- For fans of ambient, experimental, environmental, minimalism, avant-garde, synth, JRPG music, Haruomi Hosono, Midori Takada, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Satoshi Ashikawa, Yutaka Hirose, Vanity Records, Holy grails, intricate sounds, turtles, and peacocks.

- Official reissue of Inoyamaland’s highly sought after masterpiece of ambient/electronic Danzindan-Pojidon, produced by YMO’s Haruomi Hosono and originally released on his label Yen Records in 1983. Absolute must-have of Japanese 80s new age alongside Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass and Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Green.

- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai’s Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, Yasuaki Shimizu’s Kakashi, John Carpenter’s Dark Star Soundtrack, Grauzone’s Eisbär…), label founded by Olivier Ducret of Mental Groove (Miss Kittin, Orbe, Donato Dozzy...) and Stephan Armleder of Villa Magica Records (Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Christian Marclay, Stephan Eicher, John Armleder, Sylvie Fleury…)


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Special remarks : 2LP, 2022 Repress Edition

Vital Sales Points:
- Released by popular NTS show Noise In My Head
- Liner notes from Ivan Smagghe and artwork from Misha Hollenbach (Perks and Mini)
- Features many rarities reissued for the first time ever (Karen Marks' most wanted Australian cold wave single last sold for 290€ while Once traded for 170€)
- All tracks officially licensed, sourcing original masters when available
- Includes digital download

Tracklist
A1. Linda Smith - I So Liked Spring , A2. Karen Marks - Cold Café , A3. Bruce Langhorne - Leaving Del Norte , A4. The Seraphims - Conciousness of Happening
B1. Garry Davenport - Sarra , B2. Some of My Best Friends Are Canadians - Feeling Sheepish , B3. The Rising Storm - Frozen Laughter
C1. Warfield Spillers - Daddy's Little Girl , C2. Joyce Heath - I Wouldn't Dream Of It , C3. Joe Tossini and Friends - Wild Dream , C4. Scott Seskind - I Remember
D1. Angel - Driving (Down) , D2. Nini Raviolette and Hugo Weris - Slow , D3. Nora Guthrie - Home Before Dark , D4. Once - Joanna

Short info:
Sky Girl is a mysteriously unshakeable companion, a deeply melancholic and sentimental journey through folk-pop, new wave and art music micro presses that span 1961-1991. A seemingly disparate suite of selections of forgotten fables by more or less neverknowns, Sky Girl forms a beautifully coherent and utterly sublime whole deftly compiled by French collectors DJ Sundae and Julien Dechery.

From Scott Seskind's adolescent musical road movie to Karen Marks' icy Oz-wave, the charming DIY storytelling of Italian-American go-getter Joe Tossini and the ethereal slow dance themes of Parisian artists Nini Raviolette and Hugo Weris, Sky Girl resonates on a wide spectrum historically, geographically and stylistically. It unites in a singular, longing, almost intangible ambience.

If the names sound wholly unfamiliar that doesn't matter, the nature of the compositions swiftly nurtures an intimacy with these lonely, poignant, openhearted wanderers. Most were available in a very limited capacity at the time of their release, some were never really released at all - Gary Davenport declined to release Sarra after he split with the girl for whom the track is named - years later a friend convinced Davenport to allow him to put 100 copies online to sell and DJ Sundae was quick enough to snare one. Beyond their scarcity, these tracks are bound together by a certain raw beauty that's achievable when music is made and no one is listening.

Sky Girl comprises of fifteen officially licensed songs, a two year international scavenger hunt through long-folded home label operations, the depths of internet forums and traceless acetates. Both compilers are well trained record sleuths - DJ Sundae's labels Hollie and Idle Press have reissued Arthur Russell affiliate Nirosta Steel and DIY relic Pitch, while Julien Dechery previously compiled 'Fire Star', a retrospective on Tamil film composer Ilaiyaraaja, for Bombay Connection.

Released by Noise In My Head offshoot Efficient Space, Sky Girl is enriched with artwork from Perks and Mini mutant Misha Hollenbach and appropriately elegant sleeve notes courtesy of Ivan Smagghe.




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2023 repress

2LP with printed inner sleeves

Tracklist

1. The Mod 4 - A Puppet
2. The Yardleys - Just Remember
3. Decompressed Impossibility - You Can't Ride Away
4. The Living End - Brigitta
5. The Newports - Feelin' Low
6. The Landlords - I'm Through With You
7. The Prisners Dream - Autumn Days
8. The Fortels - She
9. The Bohemians - Say It
10. Tresa Leigh - Until Then
11. WM. Penn & The Quakers - Ghost Of The Monks
12. The Tempters - I Will Go
13. Jerry McGee - Twilight Zone
14. Carroll - The Boy Called Billy Joe
15. The Common People - Here, There & Everywhere
16. Dennis Harte - Summer's Over
17. Toe Head - Goodnight Jackie


Short info:

A North American road trip of coming of age garage soul mapped by Ivan Liechti, Ghost Riders is Efficient Space’s latest narrative compilation, hovering in a liminal emotional ravine between moonlight melancholy, teenage heartache and unchecked, unrealised ambition. Across 17 open hearted ballads recorded 1965-1974, the 2LP collects and connects dots between British Invasion fanatics, child prodigies, the loners and the luckless, in a kind of trans-continental survey of those swept up in rock’n’roll mania and buoyed by local newspaper ads promising fame and gold records.

From the tangerine dreams of 8th grade all-girl combo The Mod 4 to the tri-state jukebox aspiring echoes of The Tempters, The Yardleys' poetic Farfisa vamp and lilting folk pop, and The Landlords’ weepy break up b-side blues, these are mostly one shots by dreamers whose experience was brief before being checked back to the reality of suburban normality and realistic career options. Hailing from the regional backwaters of Illinois, Arkansas, Nevada, Massachusetts, Ohio, Idaho, Texas and beyond, the licensed artists were scouted by way of local fire departments, spiritualist fellowships and animal welfare centres, often barely a stones throw from where their contributions were originally laid.

A barely teenage Dennis Harte's ‘Summer’s Over’ perhaps best taps the collection’s essence. A gut-wrenching lament of the passing of the season as if it was the last on earth. Flanked by players from The Left Banke, Harte, a now-piano tuner to the stars, is from the minor segment that found longevity in showbiz. Likewise with Michigan icon Lyn Nowicki who cast her ghostly voice over Beatles cover song chameleons The Common People and Jerry McGee, The Ventures member and conduit of Dr. John’s ‘Twilight Zone’.

Ghost Riders simmers with the scent of youthful summers, the pang of schoolyard romance, and the excitement (and disenchantment) of teenage naïveté, delivered via a deceptively simple and frequently wonky garage band set up. The vision of record collector and graphic designer Ivan Liechti, these eternal psych-folk howlers are further crystallised by Colin Young’s fastidious audio restoration, the original artwork of Elise Gagnebin-de Bons and an aptly penned forward from Sonic Boom.






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