Bis Aufs Messer News 05 March 2023

Weekly News -

Bis Aufs Messer News 05 March 2023

Hi. Welcome to another newsletter for March - a couple cool restocks arrived like EMBRACE and ONE LAST WISH LPs on colored vinyl, RITES OF SPRING LP, KMRU - Peel DLP restock, STARAN WAKE - s/t LP restock, a couple Ryo Fukui restocks, GRAUZONE restocks, Hiroshi Suzuki restocks, Ash Ra Tempel and Manuel Göttsching restocks, Metz restocks, Duster restocks, 

 

Along a bunch of new titles arrived like the ALTIN GÜN - Ask LP, BARDO POND - Volume 3 DLP re issue, BOTCH - American Nervoso LP re issue on black and colored vinyl, ERIC DOLPHY - Outward Bound LP, KASSEL JAEGER - Shifted in Dreams LP, THE LIMIÑANAS - Electrified DLP, STEVE GUNN & DAVID MOORE - Reflections Vol. 1: Let The Moon Be A Planet LP, OPERATING THEATRE - Spring Is Coming With A Strawberry In The Mouth / Rapid Eye Movements DLP (!!!), VALENTINA MAGALETTI & LAILA SAKINI - Cupo LP, MOSS ICON - Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly LP re issue on black and colored vinyl and more

 

We also added a few more second hand LPs and 7“s to our discogs

 

https://www.discogs.com/seller/XMESSERX

 

Thank you as usual

 

Til then thank you for all your orders & support.

 

Robert & Norman

mailorder@bisaufmesser.com

www.bisaufsmesser.com

www.adagio830-records.bandcamp.com

 

 

7“

 

 

DUSTER - Moods, Modes 3x7" BOXSET (numero - Explore the Duster universe on the far superior 45RPM format. This deluxe triple 7" box contains Duster's first single_1997's Transmission Flux (including "Stars Will Fall" & "Orbitron"), 1998's Apex, Trance- Like (featuring "Four Hours"), plus Stratosphere's painfully absent "Echo, Bravo" and the lost 2002 outtake "What You're Doing To Me." Housed in replica sleeves and placed in a sturdy two-piece box, Moods, Mode s also contains a Duster-branded hanky for those who like to accessorize .) 39.00

 

LP

 

ALTIN GÜN - Ask LP (glitterhoiuse - The first thing that grabs you about Altin Gün"s new album is the energy. With Ask, the Amsterdam-based sextet turn away from the electronic, synth-drenched sound of their 2021 albums, Alem and Yol. While those two, created at home during the pandemic, paid homage to the electronic pop of the 80s and early 90s, Ask, marks an exuberant return to the 70s Anatolian folk-rock sound that characterised Altin Gün"s first two albums, On (2018) and Gece (2019). But there"s development here too. Ask is the closest the band have come so far to capturing the infectious energy of their live performances. "It"s definitely connecting more with a live sound - almost like a live album," says bassist Jasper Verhulst. "We, as a band, just going into a rehearsal space together and creating music together instead of demoing at home." "We didn"t record it like we did the last album," agrees vocalist Merve Dasdemir. "We basically produced that one at home because of the pandemic. Now we"ve gone back to recording live on tape." How many more worlds do Altin Gün visit in this joyful expedition? "Rakiya Su Katamam" is glowering space rock as though Gong had taken a stopover on the Bosphorus. "Canim Oy" is a psychedelic freak-beat stomper from a world where Istanbul"s Kadiköy district was the Carnaby Street of the east. "Güzelligin On Para Etmez" is a dreamy acid-folk anthem. And the finale, "Doktor Civanim," is an irresistible slice of sci-fi disco camp with lava-lamp synth squiggles that wouldn"t sound out of place next to Baris Manço"s "Ben Bilirim." Fresh yet timeless. Rooted in antiquity yet yearning for heavenly futures. Ask wants to take you places. All you have to do is strap yourself in) 26.00

 

ALVA NOTO FEAT. MARTIN GORE & WILLIAM BASINSKI - Subterraneans LP (not on - Subterraneans is a collaborative EP featuring Alva Noto, Depeche Mode’s Martin L. Gore and William Basinski’s cover of David Bowie’s homonymous song. Recorded in 1975, Subterraneans is the closing song of David Bowie’s 1977 album Low. The composition was initially intended for the soundtrack to the 1976 science fiction drama film The Man Who Fell to Earth. ) 20.00

 

BARDO POND - Volume 3 DLP (fire - Classic Double Black vinyl, DL card. "Obviously, Bardo Pond are the greatest band in the world" VICE. Super rare recordings from 2002 and pressed on vinyl for the very first time. The third in the band's series of limited-edition releases showcasing jam sessions and other miscellany. Somewhere between the 'Dilate' album in 2001 ("a combination of Kyuss and Spacemen 3" NME) and 'On the Ellipse' in 2003 ("Nowhere is feedback more melancholic, more emotive, than that fashioned by Bardo Pond" Brainwashed), Bardo Pond transcended into a mantra-like, multi-layered, cross-dimensional, wah wah powered nirvana. In some circles, they say, spaceships wafted them away and they only returned some-time later, mind-altered and bedraggled, ears ringing. But that is the stuff of supposition. As we already know, there is no 'off' switch on Bardo Pond, they are never knowingly unplugged. Indeed, the modal evolution of their sound continues unabated.) 35.00

 

BOTCH - American Nervoso LP (Sargent house - LP, Foil jacket, w/ printed inner sleeves + DL card. Legendary Tacoma, Washington mathcore/hardcore/metal band Botch's debut full-length American Nervoso was originally recorded in 1998, eventually becoming one of the most ground-breaking records during a pivotal shift in heavy music. Now, the band's debut album is set to be re-issued on Sargent House 25 years after its original release. The album features white-hot guitar action, scathing vocals, sweet bass moves, and torrential drums, smashing existing precepts of hardcore and redefining both the word and the music for a generation of kids and grizzled vets alike. Bassist Brian Cook, guitarist David Knudson, drummer Tim Latona, and vocalist Dave Verellen formed Botch in 1993, eventually becoming one of the most significant bands of their time. Their final show was June 15, 2002, the same day as the release of their final EP, An Anthology of Dead Ends. The members would go on to play in These Arms Are Snakes, Minus the Bear, and Russian Circles, among others, with acclaim for the band coming mostly post-breakup. Over 20 years since they played their final show, Botch are reuniting for select dates in the Pacific Northwest in February 2023. 25th anniversary re-issue of Botch's critically lauded debut album. Botch have their first live performances in over 20 years for early 2023. Botch have been included on "Most Influential lists" by outlets like Decibel, Rock Sound, Alternative Press, A.V. club + more.) 32.00

 

DAVID TOOP / PETER CUSACK / STEVE BERESFORD / TERRY DAY - Alterations LP (sub rosa - Never released before recordings from Logos Foundation live sessions at Logos Foundation, January 3, 1981.The music is free-improvisation - that is we make our music co-operatively while playing : by listening, reacting, throwing in new ideas, not by following preplanned schemes. At its simplest the group's intention can be said to be to play together as well as possible and to enjoy ourselves while doing so. We are very interested in the result and intend that the audience is as well. As well as the musicians reacting to each other the music itself is pretty reactive to context. In other words room acoustics, background noise, audience response have a strong effect on what happens. This is particularly true of the audience. We have done performances where conversation has broken out with some audience members. There is much to see as well as hear - this is partly to do with the instruments. Together Terry, Steve and David have hundreds, all sizes, all sorts, most colours. They completely cover the floor. Many of these are non-western. The wide range of instruments means that an extremely broad sound spectrum is covered, from sudden bangs to very quiet low notes, from squeaks to normal guitar sounds. This is what fixes the overal group sound.) 23.00

 

DAWN RAY'D - To Know the Light LP (prosthetic - To Know the Light is the third full length from the UK based politically charged troupe, Dawn Ray'd. To Know The Light is a departure from their previous missives in more ways than one. Although still overtly political, the lyrics take on a more personal slant than before. Lyrically, To Know The Light traces the band's own journey through anarcho-nihilism; from anger, to despair, to a radical acceptance of the darkness all around us, settling on a new understanding of liberation and joy. Whilst much of the thematic content is rooted in rage and resistance, there are also elements of positivity to be found throughout. Citing influences as genre-diverse as Chumbawumba, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Propagandhi, Lankum, and Crass, it is evident that the message is still as important as the music. The thread that runs through all these bands - and many others - is one that allows for creative expression around common themes of class struggle, freedom and resistance. Much of the lyrical content is poetic in structure and delivery, but never at the expense of straightforward language when necessary. The album's cover continues this theme of directness, featuring a photograph taken in France by Remi Moon, with additional artwork and layout by Ethan McCarthy. The image features a silhouetted figure in front of a fire at a protest. Consider this an invitation to disregard preconceptions about Dawn Ray'd and the genre(s) within which they reside. Consider To Know The Light as not just a rallying cry but a sincere offering of a new way of looking at the world.) 30.00

 

ERIC DOLPHY - Outward Bound LP (survival research - Avant-garde pioneer Eric Dolphy achieved incredible things with the bass clarinet, establishing it as a vehicle for solo improvisation, and was equally adept on alto and flute, gaining kudos from peers such as John Coltrane and Charles Mingus. Outward Bound holds a special place in jazz as Dolphy’s first LP fronting his dynamite quintet, leaving conventions behind from the get-go. With the entire group on tremendous form throughout and Dolphy reaching the heights of his genius, this is a stellar release from a giant whose star shined brightly and briefly, until his tragic early death from undiagnosed diabetes.Incl. Bonus tracks "April Fool" and "245 (alternate take 1)“) 26.00

 

GARY HIGGINS - Red Hash LP + 7“ (drag city - 1973: Connecticut native Gary Higgins and his friends record RED HASH and release it on Gary"s own Nufusmoon Records. Following the release, legal issues halt all promotion and sales, rendering the small pressing of RED HASH a hotly-rumored and much sought-after "lost" album of rock and roll lore. 2005: Drag City is honored to present the first-ever authorized reissue of Gary Higgins" acid-folk gem RED HASH - mastered from the original master tapes with two previously unheard bonus tracks. The reviews are glowing: the haunting sound of Gary"s meticulously arranged folk-pop is a sound that everyone can relate to, and RED HASH makes many year-end lists around the world as Top Reissue. 2007: What do you mean, we forgot to make a vinyl version of RED HASH in 2005? Really? Well, let"s not wait another minute, we might forget again... 2021: Whaddya mean it"s been literal years since we"ve had copies of RED HASH for sale? Oh yeah, whoops - you"re right. Spaced it! Okay, here"s more vinyl, complete with the tip-on sleeve, lyric insert and 7" single featuring the CD bonus tracks "Don"t Ya Know" and "Last Great Sperm Whale." This is your chance to score a letter perfect reproduction of the early 70s acid-folk classic as it was reissued WAY back in the early 20-somethings! Don"t blow it, dude.) 32.00

GRAUZONE - Grauzone DLP (wrwtf — The original 1981 album + all songs from Grauzone's discography, sourced from the original reels. Overseen by Grauzone's Stephan Eicher and liner notes by Swiss music historian Lurker Grand. Mandatory!) 27.00

 

GRAUZONE - Limited Edition 40 Years Anniversary BOX SET (wrwtfw - GRAUZONE // LIMITED EDITION 40 YEARS ANNIVERSARY BOX SET - The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of the superb music, the cult band developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude". ) 60.00

 

JOHANNA ​ORELLANA – Las ​Camelias, ​Tres ​Esquinas LP (smalltown -Flautist Johanna Orellana teams up with Carmen Villain for a collection of horizontal, pastoral field recordings and close mic-ed flute sounds that zero in on the instrument’s unstable resonance and levitational magic. There’s no cringe virtuoso business or fourth world firewalking here - just sonic purity, sublime minimalism and the precise capture of time, place and poetry. You might have come across Johanna Orellana before if you’ve listened to Carmen Villain’s music (or seen her perform live), and Villain appears here in a producer’s role, using her engineering expertise to impart a level of restraint and sonic fidelity that’s quite startling. There are only really two central elements to the album: environmental recordings and flute. There’s no psychedelic delay, no cavernous reverb; no audible treatments at all - Orellana and Villain instead force us to consider the flute and its musical lineage) 30.00

 

KASSEL JAEGER - Shifted in Dreams LP (SHELTER _ back in stock - Franco-Swiss composer François J. Bonnet, aka Kassel Jaeger, returns to Shelter Press with his new solo album, Shifted in Dreams. Over the years, Bonnet has been working closely with Shelter Press on different projects, whether as a musician (Zauberberg, Swamps / Things), a theorist (The Music To Come) or as Director of parisian institution INA GRM (SPECTRES, Recollection GRM, Portraits GRM). The common axis of all these actions is the exploration of the deep causes of music, its own potential and its possible appearances. Shifted in Dreams is a continuation of such research but takes a somewhat deviated path. If we use the metaphor of music as a paradoxical mountain — an unreachable "Mont Analogue", then this record tries to opens up a way that at first seems simpler and marked out by the distinct presence of familiar harmonic and temporal elements. This path, however, is simple only in appearance, for soon it becomes less clear: its contours get blurred, drowned in the mist. Silhouettes form in the distance, like uncertain shadows. We grope our way forward, in this infra-sensitive thickness of the world outside of signs. The recognized markers disappear, giving way, at best, to reminiscences, but increasingly making way to qualities, occurrences, events. We leave the known world of musical codes to join that of sound apparitions, their memorial imprints and the impressions they produce. ) 29.00

 

KOMMAND - Death Age LP (20 buck spin - “Death Age” maintains the armed to the teeth savage militancy of earlier material from LA’s Kommand, now taken even further into enemy territory with more grisly wartorn brutality than ever. Like the coordinated bombardment of an entire continent “Death Age” is an air raid siren for imminent cataclysm. The ominous atmosphere on ‘Death Age’ heralds the single-minded concentrated objective; to batter, demolish and destroy with no quarter given. Death Metal of this kind taps into the most primitive, untamed instincts, advancing like a convoy of tanks through occupied territory, heedless of whatever or whoever stands in its path.  From opener ‘Final Virus’ to closer ‘Collapse Metropolis’ Kommand’s vision of a dystopian hellscape, cities permanently scarred by heavy weaponry, and those unfortunates who survived the onslaught never relents or offers respite. ‘Death Age’ thus renders a terminal epitaph on the bloody trash heap of near-future history.) 29.00

 

THE LIMIÑANAS - Electrified DLP (because - The garage-psychedelic French duo The Liminanas straddles since 2009 the boundary between psychedelic, shoegaze, garage and French yé-yé up to cool vocals. Quintessentially French but first known at the start in the US before hitting homeland France. 7 studio albums so far, 2 rare tracks compilations, many Eps ,some OST, collabs such as L’Epée with Anton Newcombe and Emmanuelle Seigner: time for a first time Best of, and actually more than a Best of : Double CD and double LP and limited Triple Vinyl editions offer 12 exclusive bonus tracks - new songs and rare songs when they called themselves les Bellas, before The Liminanas. Electrified also includes 23 classics songs, with featurings such as Peter Hook, Anton Newcombe and French pionners Laurent Garnier, Etienne Daho and Pascal Comelade. Features liner notes written by Iggy Pop, Peter Hook and Keith Streng (Fleshtones) : because it’s only rock’n’roll.) 33.00

 

MATS GUSTAFSSON & JOACHIM NORDWALL - Their Power Reached Across Space and Time-to Defy Them Was Death-or Worse LP (Thrill Jockey - Mats Gustafsson is a world-renowned horn player who has pushed the evolution of improvised music with his own unique voice. Joachim Nordwall is a cornerstone of the Swedish musical underground, exploring the extremities of guitar music with The Skull Defekts and solo recordings as The Idealist that access the spiritual and political dimensions of electronic music and dub. Nordwall also runs the esteemed and boundary pushing iDEAL Recordings. Gustafsson and Nordwall’s THEIR POWER REACHED ACROSS SPACE AND TIME-TO DEFY THEM WAS DEATH-OR WORSEfinds both musicians pushing their instruments to the limit in order to create a sound experience that is adventurous and fresh. This is an album that celebrates the ecstasy of low dynamic experimental music executed with skilled precision. The power of this inventive duo is that each musician drives the other to unexpected places creating sonic expanse that demands repeat exploration.) 28.00

 

MATTIAS PETERSSON - Triangular Progressions LP (hollow ground - Mattias Petersson debuts on the Swiss label Hallow Ground with »Triangular Progressions,« a suite in nine parts written entirely in the SuperCollider environment using additive synthesis. The starting point for the evocative piece is a magic number triangle that Petersson invented during his early composition studies and which has been an obsession of the artist for over twenty years, previously forming the foundation of many other of his works. By exploring the harmonic progressions found hiding within the triangle, »Triangular Progressions« at once emits a sense of introspective calm that fosters deep listening and evokes a whole spectrum of emotions, mediating between the abstract and the visceral.The Stockholm-based Petersson, also known under the moniker Codespira1 and for his long-term collaboration with violinist George Kentros as There Are No More Four Seasons, has been active as a composer of computer music as well as an artist in the realms of live coding and modular synthesis for over two decades. Originally trained as a classical pianist, he also holds a diploma in electro-acoustic composition from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he currently works as an associate professor. Besides his activities as a musician and teacher, Petersson is pursuing a PhD in composition at the Luleå University of Technology. Researching modular systems comprising both human and non-human modules, he is part of the GEMM))) Gesture Embodiment and Machines in Music cluster.) 28.00

 

MOSS ICON - Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly LP (temporary - Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly was the one and only full-length album by experimental post-punk innovators, Moss Icon . Recorded in 1988, Lyburnum would not be released until 1993 - several years after Moss Icon 's demise. Originally released on Vermiforn - the esoteric noise label founded by Sam McPheeters of Born Against - the vision that Moss Icon 's Tonie Joy had for Lyburnum failed to manifest in its finished product. Of the process of preparing Lyburnum for its eventual release, Joy recalls, "My creative mind was well into its next chapter, onto an apocalyptic order [referring to Joy's post- Moss Icon band, Universal Order of Armageddon ]. Getting Lyburnum to look like what I envisioned in my mind became an uphill battle that involved misplaced photos, misunderstood instructions by the printer, increasing apathy, and lack of advanced printing knowledge (on my part), amongst many other technical and creative issues. With a deadline near it ended up being an it-is-what-it-is situation. Some corrections were attempted for the second pressing the following year, but a further lack of coordination between various parties saw it losing even more of the original vision." Despite these challenges and shortcomings, Lyburnum Wits End Liberation was instantly cherished as a feral masterpiece - a singular entity that would become a defining influence on post-hardcore and emo in the 1990s and beyond. Nothing before sounded like this, and nothing since has quite captured the same mysterious fury. Now, finally, Moss Icon 's seminal Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly LP will be released exactly as it was always intended to look, sound, and feel. The artwork has been fully restored, and includes previously unpublished photos that were inadvertently missing from the original release. Brilliantly remastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, the vinyl has been newly cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, and pressed onto audiophile-grade vinyl at Record Technology Inc.) 28.00

 

NKONO TELES - Love Vibration LP (This is a storming compilation of Cameroonian-born, Nigerian-based super producer Nkono Teles’ solo work. The pioneer of West African electronic music was known for being tapped by over 100 other musicians to produce or arrange their music, from King Sunny Adé, Guy Lobe, even Steve Monite's album "Only You" and more. Having already appeared on Soundway's best-selling compilation "Doing It In Lagos", here more of Nkono's limited solo work is carefully remastered and reissued on vinyl for the first time. ) 26.00

 

OPERATING THEATRE - Spring Is Coming With A Strawberry In The Mouth / Rapid Eye Movements DLP (allchival - This is a look at the music of Roger Doyle and Operating Theatre, a little known proto synth-pop act and experimental theatre group that he led, what you have here is a remastered and repackaged collection of two very different sides of this project.  In reverse chronological order the second disc contains music from the United Dairies release of 1979 – ‘Rapid Eye Movements’. Experimental tape work heavily influenced by the French school of music concretists and recorded at various points during the 70s in Finland, Holland and Ireland, although it is most certainly a Roger Doyle solo record the label ran by Nurses With Wounds John Fothergill decided to release it under the group name for reasons now lost to the fog of time. After this a volte-face towards a more accessible sound, coming via his friendship with future Hollywood actress Olwen Fouéré and her connection to the theatre. It also featured the vocals of a young Spanish immigrant Elena López- bucking the 80’s trend by moving to, rather than, from Dublin. With Fouéré adding the theatrical element to the group (an almost essential part of any early 80s synth act) alongside pulsing synths, brass, a vocoder and the electro acoustic production talents of Doyle himself, it was the first time a Fairlight sampler was used in an Irish studio setting and gives a prescient but alternative take on the new wave sound that came to dominate the charts soon after. ) 31.00

 

PATRICK STAS - If Paul K.'s Life Was a Movie, This Would Be the Soundtrack of His Death LP (stroom - Patrick Stas arrived on planet Earth on January 25th, 1954, in Ixelles, Brussels. Here he would spend his early years, until the moment his parents bid their Brussels catering career farewell. By his own admission, music was of no interest to the young Patrick. His parents’ record collection left him cold. Bands like Les Compagnons de la Chanson, much-loved by Patricks parents, got on his nerves. Just one record managed to charm him: a soul record by Sam & Dave. Not coincidentally a record his mother detested. How that record ended up in the collection no one knows, but it was the spark that lit Patrick’s burning love for music. A fire that would never fade until his death.) 30.00

 

PHAROAH SANDERS - Oyster Club, Nice, France Fm 18/07/1971 LP (This is tenor sax giant Pharoah Sanders caught live in France in summer 1971, when the man was still in full post-Coltrane mood. At the head of a strong quintet featuring: Lonnie Liston Smith - piano, Cecil McBee - bass, Jimmy Hopps - drums, and Lawrence Killian - congas, Pharoah delivers two very intense yet serene versions of his milestone piece 'The Creator Has A Master Plan' and 'Let Us Go In The House Of The Lord,' a traditional gospel hymn arranged by Lonnie Liston Smith. This is deep spiritual music kissed by the sun of a splendid southern France summer.) 25.00

 

PAVEL MILYAKOV - Project Mirrors LP (ad93 - RIYL 0PN, Lorenzo Senni, Conrad Schnitzler, Nebuchadnezzar… ‘Project Mirrors’ debuts Milyakov on Nic Tasker’s label with a lush brace of club-adjacent creations distinctly recalling his work on Rassvet Records’ ‘Eastern Strike’ 12” or the spiralling vortices of the sought-after ‘City-2’ sessions. The eight beat-less yet propulsive works mark up his first solo flight under his own name since 2020, following an armful of interim collaborations with artists ranging from Alex Zhang-Hungtai to Bendik Giske, DJ Speedsick and Yana Pavlova that have proved, where necessary, the versatility and mutability of his trance-indebted works. Each cut flows with an energy oscillating from romantic to seething in a potently direct style that’s become a hallmark of all his work since the mid teens, and which is felt most powerfully here.) 25.00

 

STARAN WAKE - s/t LP (hands in the dark - Staran Wake is a collaborative project by Andrew Bunsell and Tom Relleen (Tomaga). After several years creating music in various groups together, followed by countless hazy late night recording sessions at each other’s studios and crisper afternoons producing the results, the British duo’s musical vision materialised with this self-titled instrumental album, taking nearly 4 years to complete. This collection of pieces is composed with a wide range of instruments and combines multiple dark, experimental genres to form a rather lavish and unique proposition. It is imprinted with intense turgid textures, interweaving the hyper-tactile characteristics of analogue sound with field recording elements and sound effects. ) 26.00

 

STEVE GUNN & DAVID MOORE - Reflections Vol. 1: Let The Moon Be A Planet LP (rvng - Steve Gunn and David Moore's Let the Moon be a Planet is a volume of improvisatory exchanges between classical guitar and piano, and a meeting place where two artists become acquainted through instrumental dialogue without a single expectation distracting them from the joy and open field possibility of collaboration. A project enveloped by an aura of reciprocity, Let the Moon Be a Planet unfolded from an invitation to connect between two New York-based musicians who admired each other's work but had never intersected: guitarist and songwriter Steve Gunn, whose solo, duo, and ensemble recordings represent milestones of contemporary guitar-guided material, and pianist and composer David Moore, acclaimed for his minimalist ensemble music as the leader of Bing & Ruth. The exchange began remotely as Gunn and Moore responded to one another's solo improvisations, embarking on a synergistic progression of deep listening and connection through musical conversation. "We were both fans of each other's music and this was a chance to try a different process which was much more open," says Moore. "It felt like something I needed personally as an artist, to not be so controlling over the final output, and to truly collaborate with somebody else." Similarly for Gunn, who was exploring new pastures and passages in classical guitar when the dialogue began, the project was an invitation for pure conversation and exchange, creating space for him to revisit foundational forms with his playing: "I was trying to break out of what I was doing, to have something that just pulled away all the elements of usual structured things." Let the Moon Be a Planet intertwines the trajectories of two musicians acclaimed for pushing the boundaries of their instruments, unified by a shift away from what they recall as more "detail-oriented" approaches to composition. Fueled by the magnetism of their call and response exercise, Gunn and Moore set out on a nomadic songwriting venture without an intended destination.) 26.00

 

YOSHIMIO & IZUMIKI YOSHI DUO - To The Forest To Live Truer Life LP (Thrill jockey - Inspired by how she feels at the moment, what direction she’s facing, the people she’s surrounded by, and the energy of the location, YoshimiO uses the piano and her voice to create sound. IzumikiYoshi uses a microphone to pick up the raw sounds created by YoshimiO and feeds it through his modular synthesizer, where the sounds undergo spectral processing and modulation. These electronic tones are combined and mixed again with YoshimiO’s live sounds in a spontaneous manner, to output the sounds that were only in their imagination. That is how the music of YoshimiOizumikiYoshiduOis created.The duo’s debut album To The Forest To Live A Truer Life combines the thrill and precision of masterful improvised music practitioners unearthing new sonic possibilities. YoshimiO’s kinetic energy saturates the album’s every pore. For the first time using the piano as her primary instrument in addition to her singular voice, YoshimiO’s every move is bent, stretched, and mutated by IzumikiYoshi’s modular synthesizer into cascades of brightly colored waves and dotted constellations of sound. A balance of YoshimiO’s raw live improvisations and IzumikiYoshi's correlated processed sounds give the pieces a sense of grounding and weightlessness in tandem. Stark piano figures that recall bluesy phrasings or classical progressions warp into beams of fizzling synthesizer. YoshimO’s voice undulates and echoes in wild tendrils. Rather than taming YoshimiO’s spirited performances, IzumikiYoshi adorns every unique flutter with complementary otherworldly textures. Recorded primarily in a cafe nestled in a forest in Japan, To The Forest To Live A Truer Life is a celebration of pure potential, of music born of the moment expanding in every direction.) 28.00

 

VALENTINA MAGALETTI & LAILA SAKINI - Cupo LP (Edition of 500 copies - A hypnotic demonstration of improvisation, and an ode to the free-jazz and DIY cultures the two artists rose from, Cupo ultimately becomes an object of intuition that marks both a turning point and coming together of two of London’s most imaginative figures. Cupo, the debut collaborative album by London based producer/percussionist Valentina Magaletti and enigmatic artist Laila Sakini, deploys an orchestra-sized ensemble of instruments thru dub, ambient, modern classical, and effortlessly experimental modes. Initiated under a title meaning ‘dark’ in Italian, Cupo sees the dynamic worlds of Magaletti and Sakini merge, overlap and subsequently expand, together traversing new shadowy grounds and supernatural, static situations. Sakini ravels together trumpet, flute, harmonica, recorder, vocals, bass, strings and piano to deliver her melancholic and cryptic odes, while Magaletti adds acoustic guitar, Italian spoken word, bongos, bass, and drums, pitched down to match the sunken swag of Sakini. The album also features trumpet played by YL Hooi.) 30.00

 

V/A - DUMA MLODYCH LP + BOOK (refuse - Mysha Fanzine was created by Anna Lubinska and Adam Szulc (from Cymeon X) in Poznan and was one of the most important hardcore punk fanzines in Poland in the early '90s. All the bands compiled on this album appeared in the pages of the fanzines' five issues with the songs being recorded between 1987-1994. This collects 18 songs by 18 bands from seven countries plus the Mysha Fanzine anthology book, for the thirty-year anniversary of the first issue, in one package, bringing back memories of one the best and influential periods in the history of Polish and international hardcore punk and straight-edge scenes. Limited edition of 400 copies) 26.00

 

V/A - Polyphonic Cosmos: Sonic Innovations In Japan (1980-1986) DLP (Ever since he made his first trip to Japan to DJ, Optimo Music founder JD Twitch has been bewitched by Japanese music, and particularly the vibrant, imaginative, and often far-sighted sounds which emerged from the island nation during the 1980s. Now he’s put years of digging in Japanese record shops to good use on Polyphonic Cosmos, the latest release on his compilation-focused Cease & Desist imprint. Subtitled ‘A Beginners Guide to Japan In The ‘80s’, the collection offers a personal selection of Japanese gems recorded and released between 1981 and ’86 – a period when advances in recording and musical technology offered the nation’s artists and producers a whole new tool kit to employ. When combined with the unique musical culture of Japan, where local traditions are frequently fused with Western styles to create timeless, off-kilter aural fusions, this embrace of locally pioneered music technology had spectacular, often unusual results. Eight years in the making, Polyphonic Cosmos provides an endlessly entertaining musical snapshot of Japanese music of the early-to-mid ‘80s with all of the open-minded eclecticism and sonic twists that you would expect from the Glasgow-based DJ. ) 34.00

 

ZBIGNIEW PREISNER - Trois Couleurs: Rouge OST LP + CD (because - Three Colors: Red (Rouge: Bande Originale Du Film) is the soundtrack album to the award-winning film Three Colors: Red, with music composed by Zbigniew Preisner. The music is performed by the Sinfonia Varsovia (Beata Rybotycka, Elżbieta Towarnicka, Jacek Ostaszewski, Konrad Mastyło, Silesian Filharmonic Choir, Sinfonia Varsovia, Wojciech Michniewski - conductor).) 25.00