FEATURED NEW RELEASES
TV on the Radio
The Pipettes
Mama's Got a Bag of Her Own
Phono 73 (2 CDs + DVD)
B.B. Blunder
Cherrystones Crawl Back to Mine
Cut Chemist
Tuxedomoon
The Lost Tapes ( LP-Only Comp.)
Roberta Flack (First two albums)
Kan Mikami
Helios (2 CDs)
Professor Murder
Grasslung
HsDom
Southern Man & Pykrete

ALSO AVAILABLE
Lisa Germano
Ø (Pan Sonic's Mika Vainio)
Touch 25 (Various)
Francis Poulenc Plays the Piano Music of Eric Satie and Pulenc
Corrupted
Common People
Voice of the Seven Woods

BACK IN STOCK
Chris Harwood (7" single)
Susan Christie (7" single)



COMPLETE LIST OF THIS WEEK'S NEW ARRIVALS

TV ON THE RADIO
Return to Cookie Mountain
(4AD)

"I Was a Lover"

"Playhouses"

The domestic release date for this highly-anticipated album is still almost two months away (September 12), but as you may already know, we've got a good, albeit limited supply of import copies of TV on the Radio's new full-length. I'm happy to report that Return to Cookie Mountain is sure to keep the band's growing fan base happy. It's an immediately recognizable collection of what's become their trademark sound (dual vocal interplay, shoegaze-inspired walls of guitar and the ability to turn a melody into a frenzy in five minutes), and more in line with their debut full-length as opposed to their first EP. Influences from Peter Gabriel, classic soul and doo-wop are still in the mix, along with some nice studio tricks, tribal percussion, female vocals from Katrina Ford (Celebration), Omega Moon (Majesticons) and, once again, the Antibalas horn section. The biggest surprise here, however, is the flawless addition of guest vocalist (and number one fan) David Bowie on "Province." TV on the Radio might not be taking as many chances as before, but what they offer is a tight and solid rocking album that will not disappoint, and you're guaranteed to find at least a couple of new favorite songs from the band. [DG]

THE PIPETTES
We Are...The Pipettes
(Memphis Industries)

"Dirty Mind"

"A Winter's Sky"

They have been causing a fuss in London for a while now; three sassy Brit girls in matching polka-dot dresses calling themselves the Pipettes, begging the too-cool post-punk crowds to shake it up with their gently updated take on the classic U.S. girl-group sound. A couple of great singles appeared over the last few months, the dance floor ode "Pull Shapes" (check out the great video on YouTube), and the tinkling piano and three-part harmonies of "Dirty Mind" have raised expectations for their debut, out now in the U.K. on Memphis Industries (fine purveyor of the Go! Team and all things light and bubbly). The record is a summer find for sure, full of lovely harmonies, smart orchestrations, snapping fingers and tapping toes. The songs are simple and hooky, at their best irresistible slabs of retro dance-pop fun, and their most mundane still beautifully arranged and executed pulp pieces (staying unwittingly true to the genre standard, the album holds five or six "hits" plus some well-done filler, seeming more like a collection of singles and b-sides perhaps than a true "album").

The sticker slapped on the cover of this one trumpets an I-D Magazine pull quote touting the "classic girl harmonies and punk-pop girl power," but really the edge is none too menacing, their most modern influence might be Thee Headcoatees blues-punk squall, albeit cleaned up for the masses, and besides a few witty lyric turns referencing kicked asses or dancing to hip-hop, most of the songwriting would not be out of place on any of the great girl-group collections we've been enjoying of late. It sounds like some money went into this record, but they spent it in all the right places, on ace string players, pro arrangements, and warm vintage production. It would take a Brit to pay such a faithful and loving homage to these vintage American sounds, but the end result stands a fair shot at becoming a summer favorite on both sides of the pond, as the Pipettes succeed with songwriting, production and impeccable arrangements that transcend any simple homage. [JM]

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Mama's Got a Bag of Her Own
(Stateside)

"Esther Phillips" Nobody but You

"I Love You" Tina Britt

Stop what you are doing right now and get this comp before summer is over. I mean it. Really. Stop reading this. You are wasting valuable time which you could be spending cruising around in the sunshine, blastin' these jams out the car window, while you and yr girls (or boys) contemplate what you'll be doing after you have perfected your tans and spent the day frolicking around, singing along to the likes of Dee Dee Warwick, Bettye Lavette, Nancy Wilson and, let's see, about 22 other female soul greats. Culled from EMI's soul labels, this Stateside collection features many of the reissued artists Other Music has gushed over through the years, performing classics and covers -- and not just of the soul variety. Funk, girl group pop, ballads, disco, uptempo blues, organ stompers, steamy torch numbers…damn! The last track, Timi Yuro's "Gotta Travel On," is giving me serious goose-bumps as I write this. Doris' "Beatmaker" is gonna get stuck in your head, and in your hips. I've been really loving comps lately -- a symptom of the summertime maybe -- and am delighted this came out in time for parties in the park or hot summer night hangs. Anyone who is even slightly interested in soul music, vocalists, production or songcraft (Lieber and Stoller, Clarence Reid, etc.), or anyone who picked up the Ann Peebles a few weeks back, get ready to meet your newest heavy rotation. [NL]

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Phono 73: O Canto de um Povo
(Unviersal Brazil)

In May of 1973, Phonogram (now Universal) assembled a three-day concert in San Paulo which featured many of the greatest names in Brazilian popular music (MPB), including Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, who were marking their return from exile. I gather that the significance of this event was spectacular for Brazil. Consider that at the height of the country's repressive military dictatorship, a record label would spearhead a massive concert billed with many performers risking their own personal liberties to sing their songs of freedom. It's a fact made ever so clear when watching Gilberto Gil and Chico Buarque's duet of "Calice" on the accompanying DVD. Suddenly, Buarque's microphone stops working, not due to technical problems, but rather by order of the police. The singer responds, stating, "This is so upsetting, you know? Turning the sound off was not in the program. Of course I can't sing the song. I can't sing 'Anna de Amsterdam.' I won't sing either of them but there's no need to turn the sound off."

The DVD was my initial attraction to this set, and it is indeed amazing to see live clips of the likes of Sergio Sampaio, Gal Costa, Maria Bethania, Jorge Ben and Caetano Veloso clad in colorful costumes and way more spirited than most of their American and English rock contemporaries of the day -- Veloso's dramatic performance of "A Volta da Asa Branca" is awe-inspiring. But at only 35-minutes long, and basically a montage of concert highlights, the DVD is a merely a sampler. (I want a motion picture length film!) That said, the two CDs more than make up for it, featuring a total of 32 live tracks from the event including the aforementioned names, as well as Erasmo Carlos, Raul Seixas, Elis Regina, Toquinho and Vinicius, Nara Leao, and more. The music is truly emotional and celebratory, and 33 years later, the performers' passionate expressions of freedom and hope still resound loud and clear. [GH]

B.B. BLUNDER
Worker's Playtime
(Long Hair)

"Rocky Yagbag"

"Seed"

I've been looking forward to hearing this for quite a while, the heretofore difficult-to-find 1970 album by B.B. Blunder. A prior reissue was incorrectly attributed to the Blossom Toes, when in fact B.B. Blunder included only three of the four members of that great psychedelic pop group. Barely a year after the Blossom Toes first decided to split up, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Brian Godding, bassist Brian Belshaw and drummer Kevin Westlake came back together almost by accident for a series of one-off sessions with backup vocalist Julie Driscoll (Godding's sister-in-law) which eventually led to this full-length album and a subsequent tour before the band disintegrated for good.

The slight Captain Beefheart vibe of the second Blossom Toes album became a lot stronger with this late incarnation of the band, especially on the bluesy "Rocky Yagbag." Another highlight is the ballad "Seed," which climaxes in a frenzied explosion of guitars all soloing in totally divergent directions. The album wraps up with the magnificent "New Day," which features a glorious choir of more than 30 singers along with Godding and Driscoll. One of those voices is that of Reg King, who was in the touring line-up of B.B. Blunder along with his brother and the Action/Mighty Baby bandmate Alan King. This version of the band recorded a couple of songs for Reg's solo album, but unfortunately they're not included as bonus tracks on this CD. Instead, we get a pair of great outtakes from the Worker's Playtime sessions.

This is kind of a difficult record to wrap your head around. It's probably a little weird at first but I have to say that it's a real grower. Workers' Playtime is definitely not at all in the popsike vein of the first Blossom Toes album We Are Ever So Clean. It's a much bigger and more bombastic and ambitious psychedelic/progressive rock record. The songs weren't all recorded with an album in mind, so they feel a bit all over the place and are stitched together with three instrumental interludes that may or may not have been intended for a film soundtrack. But somehow it all works. [RH]

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Cherrystones Crawl Back to Mine
(Cherrystones)

Gareth Goddard, better known as Cherrystones, is the acting "secret weapon" of the B-Music collective, wrapping and warping his extensive vinyl collection and obscure film knowledge into the most insane aural film trailer you've ever seen; one filled with car chases, T&A, struck poses, intense Carnaby St. haute couture of the late-'60s and early-'70s (complete with liquid eyeliner), gasoline explosions, and fathoms-deep pronouncements met to red, raging, saucer-eyed acceptance. Seeing this guy spin a set had me doing windmills on the Rubulad dancefloor (effectively clearing things out; sorry if I hit you). He's my favorite selector of the group; instead of mining the deepest cuts à la Andy Votel or sticking to one genre as many of his like-minded compatriots might, Cherrystones throttles through tracks with hard-charging melodies, super-saturated breaks, and bright, flashing arrangements across garage, ye-ye, soundtracks, rocksteady and dub, hard rock, glam, Krautrock, bubblegum, Middle Eastern psych, funk, post-punk and every other extreme corner of maniacal sound from the underground, from the '60s up to today. Already well-known for his excellent import compilations Rocks and Hidden Charms, which unearthed Niagara, Pugh Roegefeldt, Marsha Hunt and the Shocking Blue to a new generation of eager crate-diggers, this is the second in a series of his anonymous mix CDs, cramming dozens of records from disparate yet equally monged genres into a restless, mindbending mix. Selections include material from Dion, the (glam) Damned, Aphrodite's Child, Q 65, the Wipers, Simply Saucer, and a bracing post-punk mashup of Big L's "Put It On." More DJs ought to aspire to the ridiculous peaks that seem to come second nature to guys like Cherrystones; Crawl Back to Mine is a partially completed map to such a euphoria. Practice makes psycheperfectdelia. [DM]

CUT CHEMIST
The Audience's Listening
(Warner)

"The Garden"

"Metrorail Thru Space"

"Los Angeles' Lucas Macfadden is Cut Chemist. But Cut Chemist isn't necessarily Lucas Macfadden," Wax Poetics' Brian Coleman cleverly noted in a recent piece about the LA-homegrown producer, DJ, and enthusiast extraordinaire. It's the same dude that made 'turntablism' actually fun to watch, hear, and feel -- and less of a wayward-wanky science experiment to endure, thanks to the now-legendary Product Placement tour and cultified Brainfreeze mix with DJ Shadow and friends. And I'm sure most of y'all don't need a 101 on his Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli days. All that history (always worth re-visiting), and the voluminous impression that lingers, is rather irrelevant to what hip-hop's most unassumingly diligent artist has to offer with his debut solo album, The Audience's Listening. I suppose it took him about five years to concoct this wonderful mayhem, but what's five years to the driving dilemma of the chaotic infinitude presented to the all-embracing musical enthusiast, whose lifetime is dedicated to the quest for the perfect beat? So the document at hand is what will plenty do for now, with countless of those ingeniously found-n-fair-haired beats reshaped, reworked, and revamped --- the only way the Chemist does unrivaled and best. Expect the unexpected, and listen for that dichotomy of myth and man to become a conceptual ONE, beat-conducting 'as if' in straight tradition of everything that hip-hop embodies: all that's future-forward, ever-evolving and totally challenging. And perhaps it is the hip-hop kid at the end of the crates, err…day, that embodies the diversity that music has to offer, because there is nothing short of genre-f**k hybrids and stylized neck-and-neckisms with live, lush Brazilian tripped-out warmth ("The Garden") floating sweetly next to what might perhaps be the greatest long-lost psychedelic rap joint recorded in the Golden Age.... or, thanks to Edan and Mr Lif (featured on "The Storm"), one of the best 'singles' of the year. Don't hear me out...just grab it yourself and listen. [MT]

TUXEDOMOON
Half Mute / Scream with a View
(Crammed Discs)

"What Use?"

"7 Years"

The fine folks at Crammed Discs first reissued Tuxedomoon's debut on their CramBoy sub-label some eight or nine years ago, but given the renewed interest in late-'70s and early-'80s sounds over the past few years, it's definitely time for another investigation of this often overlooked classic. Though the San Francisco band came up through the new wave scene, they didn't neatly fit in, owing as much, if not more to experimental and chamber music. Spearheaded by two electronic music students, Blaine L. Reininger and Steven Brown, Tuxedomoon's early work was infused with a deep, eerie sense of romanticism, the violin and sax often taking as much of a prominence as the guitar, organ and drum machines. Their first album, Half Mute, would find release on the Residents' Ralph label in 1980, which, given Tuxedomoon's theatrical multi-media live shows, was a perfect fit. Songs like the rumbling, detached pop of "What Use" recall Bowie's Eno-era, but the group also hovers in more avant territory with tracks like "Fifth Column" or the impressionistic "James Whale," and, to a certain degree, parallels the minimalist approach of Human League's early work with "59 to 1." In 1981, Tuxedomoon would release one more full-length on Ralph Records, Desire (which is another must-have in the band's discography), before moving to Europe where they would take on ballet and film scores and endure several changes in the line-up. Also included in this reissue is the band's 1979 EP Scream with a View. [GH]

VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Lost Tapes: Minimal Wave from Europe 81-86
(Minimal Wave)

The NY-based Minimal Wave label has just put out The Lost Tapes compilation; a very limited, vinyl-only pressing which collects rare tracks from the early-to-mid-'80s. All the songs were taken from cassette-only releases and it features nothing but obscuro names like Stratis, ADN la Catastrophe, Undovidual, Linear Movement and Absolute Body Control. (If you already know all the artists on this comp., you need to get off of the Internet and out of the house more often you synth wave vampire!) The A-side has more of a synth wave/new romantic feel to it. Absolute Body Control sounds like a Berlin-based OMD while Linear Movement's "The Game" reminds me of a more primitive, cold wave Visage. Bene Gesserit's "Mickey Please" could be a cross between an Egypt-obsessed Chris & Cosey and Gudrun Gut's "Domina."

The B-side, my personal favorite, has more of a raw, chunky NDW feel, among other things. The scrapey, German new wave guitars in Neon Judgement's "Schizophrenic..." will inspire a spirited art-pogo session. ADN la Catastrophe's "Sex Cinema" is reminiscent of a synth wave Chrome with its phaser gun guitar riffs over handclap drum machine and real drums. Unovidual's track has an industrial-synth-YMO feel worthy of a Metro Area/Danny Wang remix. "My Baby," from Ensemble Pittoresque, could have been an early precursor to Skinny Puppy! "Pressure is High," by the UK's Portion Control, is a GEM track, sounding like a poppier, yet no less cave-like Cabaret Voltaire with its Morse code melody and distorted, colliding vocals. And I can't wait to get a cold wave hickey while making out to Elisa Waut's "Russia"!!

All the people who loved the Eskimo's Serie Noire new beat mix from a while back will love this one too. The Lost Tapes has everything you want in a new wave compilation: no hit-fodder, rare, high-quality tracks made available, playable cuts (DJ-wise) and listenability (album-wise), quality re-mastering, heavy vinyl and nice packaging. (Also included is a Zick Zack style insert on nice paperboard with band photos and credits!) Painstakingly put together and limited to only 500 copies. (For sound samples, go to the Minimal Wave Web site.) [SM]

Also available: Iniciados "La Marca De Anubis" seven-inch single on purple vinyl -- killer Liaison Dangereuse style stuff from early-'80s Spain!

ROBERTA FLACK
First Take
(Atlantic)

"Compared to What"

"Tryin' Times"

ROBERTA FLACK
Chapter Two
(Atlantic)

"Do What You Gotta Do"

"Gone Away"

You may know Roberta Flack these days as a staple on the lite FM radio stations heard in all your favorite grocery stores, cab rides and soap opera make-out scenes. It's hard to remember that there was actually time when Flack was at the vanguard of the soul jazz movement which was exploding out of the East Coast some 37 years ago. First Take and Chapter Two are probably some of the finest examples of this kind of music, and only selected works by Nina Simone and frequent Flack collaborator Donnie Hathaway can actually match up to the quality of these two albums here.

Flack was a young, classically trained pianist who was a schoolteacher by day, and similarly to Nina Simone, an aspiring concert pianist by night. Like Simone, Flack soon discovered how hard it was for a young black woman to be taken seriously as a classical player. So out of necessity, she began to sing and she added jazz, gospel and soul tunes to her repertoire in order to secure more gigs. She soon established a residency in a prominent DC opera house bar, and it was there that she was discovered by jazz legend Les McCann. Legendary producer Joel Dorn was so blown away by her live performance that he signed her and immediately booked a session with a band, recording her singing 30 tunes from her repertoire in a single 10 hour session. Ten of those songs ended up comprising Flack's 1969 debut album, appropriately titled First Take.

One thing that immediately stands out about this extraordinary album is how sparse and intimate it sounds. There were no overdubs, and on certain songs you can actually here the hiss of the recording mics during the dramatic pauses. Highlights include her devastating rendition of Leonard Cohen's "That's No Way to Say Goodbye," the subversively jaunty version of Eugene McDaniel's "Compared to What," and an Antony & the Johnsons' live staple, "Ballad of the Sad Young Men." Oh yeah, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is also on here and yes, it's that version! But before you let out a collective groan, you have to hear it in context of the album, and keep in mind that this song didn't become a hit until 1972, three years after this album's release and two years after Chapter Two.

Chapter Two was released less than a year later, and once again we hear Flack tear through some incredible covers, this time with a little more string and horn arrangements, courtesy of the legendary producer Eumir Deodato and Donnie Hathaway. The record may not be as devastating from start to finish as its predecessor, but some of her best work is contained on here, which includes a reworking of Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" and Buffy St. Marie's "Until It's Time for You to Go." Like Simone, Flack's repertoire consisted of slightly melancholy, bittersweet songs with underlying themes of control, be it emotional, social or spiritual. But when we talk about song approach and vocal technique, here's where the comparisons ends. Flack's voice is pure, feminine and melodious, with very little in the way of the inflections one associates with jazz and gospel singers. She holds long notes and seems almost detached, like Miles Davis in his Kind of Blue period. A good example of this comparison would be in Flack's rendition of Jim Webb's "Do What You Gotta Do," which Simone also sang. Where Simone's approach is one of underlying indignation and anger, there isn't any anger in Flack's voice, as much as there is an uncomfortable resignation of acceptance and sadness, willingly showing the sort of vulnerability that Simone would always attempt to mask.

Flack grew increasingly more pop and soul oriented and fell into the adult contemporary style of music that she writes and performs to this day. Although her voice still sounds phenomenal and some of her pop R&B of the '70s was very good, she never made anything as compelling as these couple of records. I've heard Joel Dorn speak of Flack as a good vocalist when she was happy, and a great vocalist when she was sad. I guess you could say that about Simone and Hathaway as well, but I'm sure that after seeing Simone become an angry recluse, and her longtime collaborator and friend Hathaway succumb to mental illness, Flack probably isn't as compelled to get as emotionally naked on wax as she has in the past. But these records do truly stand as some of the best soul music produced at that time. Consider these albums essential. [DH]

KAN MIKAMI
Bang!
(Avex IO)

Once referred to as a "barbarization of Atahualpa Yupanqui," and known to be a singer of resentment and sorrow, Kan Mikami is not just a slightly demented Japanese troubadour, but rather, a truly amazing, one-of-a-kind vocalist. He sings about the most delicate folds of emotions reflected not just in his lyrics, but also in the actual voices that he uses. I think Bang!, his third album from URC, is an exemplary example of this. Accompanied by the Yamashita Yosuke trio (who were at their height during the time of this record), Mikami sings/rants in various vocal styles, backed by guitar and drums, electric piano, saxophone, and even sound collage. The result is an amalgam of a slightly disjunctive series of hip songs which resonates alongside albums like Brigitte Fontaine's Comme à la Radio. It may not seem like a pertinent association, but Bang! is often regarded not only as his best album, but as one of the best albums in the history of Japanese underground folk. A reference for you non-Japanese readers, the titles of songs on the album are roughly translated to be: 1) "Please Give Me This Record" 2) "Happy to Meet You" 3) "Great (Magnificent) Depression" 4) "Bang!" 5) "Night of Fish Poaching" 6) "What a Terrible Song" 7) "Red Horse" 8) "The Very Last of the Last Samba…" [YZ]

HELIOS
Eingya
(Type)

"Paper Tiger"

"Vargtimme"

HELIOS
Unomia
(Merck 026)

"Two Mark"

"Nine Black Alps"

Keith Kenniff (a/k/a Goldmund) offers two new albums under his Helios moniker. Utilizing guitar, piano and gentle electronics, Kenniff creates instrumental textures that touch on rock, jazz and classical music without ever embracing any of them fully. Spacial guitar floats over light drum pulses while fragmented and buried electronic patchworks fill in the spaces in between. Armed with a deep understanding of cinema and an otherworldly sense of restraint, Kenniff applies a similar technique utilized by groups like Tortoise or Mogwai. Both Eingya and Unomia have this minimalist soundtrack quality that should perfectly complement your early morning wakeup. [GA]

PROFESSOR MURDER
Rides the Subway
(Kanine)

"The Mountain"

Debut EP from this enjoyable Brooklyn dance/rock quartet, who graft bouncy rhythms onto anthemic, dubby Anglican post-punk proclamations. This makes for a cartoony, alive, inventive sound that's too fun and exciting to be lumped in with the general stagnation the genre has met in recent times. They come across like Mahjongg covering Adam and the Ants running aground on Liquid Liquid's secret island. Very highly recommended. [DM]

GRASSLUNG
Psychic Venom
(Phaserprone)

HSDOM
VOMC
(Phaserprone)

"Eulen Flug"

SOUTHERN MAN / PYKRETE
No More Love
(Phaserprone)

"Treason_Mode"

The dudes behind the UW Owl LP have launched a shotgun blast of new, beautifully packaged, obscuro/limited releases on the un-expecting public. More explorations on the theme of electronically (analog and digital) manipulated chaos and disarray. Grasslung (a beautifully slip-cased, cassette-only release in a 45 copy limited edition) is UW Owl's Jon Asher, cutting two long tracks of dark, black metal-inspired, doom-drone scrawl. Vivid images of an arctic desert are contained therein, with vast and bleak soundscapes alternating between cold and hot.

HsDOM's VOMC CD is UW Owl's Jochen Hartmann. I expected more dark, throbbing mutant techno like the "Rotlicht" track on UUAR's They Keep Me Smiling compilation, but it ends up that these tracks are earlier jams that are a little less 'reined-in,' with more variety, and the also have a bit more 'rabies'. Think of a one-man Black Dice boiling and troubling in a huge, cast iron cauldron ("Wohnung am Kanal"), or at times an analog, exploratory, sci-fi IDM sound probing through a dark cave ("Finnen Siedlung").

Last up is the Southern Man and Pykrete CD, the first non-New York artist on Phaserprone. The sound is like Lithops doing 'construction-site' techno or subtle, industrial composition. Simple, insistent rhythmic structures are slowly covered in bulldozer/earthmover textures (see "Distance Player"). There's quieter stuff too; "Vacation Rigonda" has warbly analog voices trading space with rummaged metal and other unknown sound sources that build into a small wall of cacophony. New sounds, in beautifully letter-pressed, hand-cut and folded sleeves with inserts and/or tipped in photos. Painfully limited edition pressings of 145 copies or less, so get 'em while they exist. [SM]

LISA GERMANO
In the Maybe World
(Young God)

"Red Thread"

With her newest disc, Lisa Germano continues to explore her woozy, intensely intimate musings in a great new setting on Young God Records. She is one of the true voices in underground music, and her wonderful and original sound is a welcome addition to a label that has stood out from the pack lately with challenging and often thrilling music from Devendra Banhart, Akron/Family and more, perhaps marking a new phase in Germano's storied career.

Ø (MIKA VAINIO)
Kantamoinen
(Sahko)

"Tullessa"

"Miekkakala"

Following the reissue of Tulkinta comes this new full-length from Ø (Pansonic's Mika Vainio), featuring pieces recorded between '99 and '04. It's a highly personal set, these exquisite ambient soundscapes alive with reflection, many of the tracks inspired by childhood memories.

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Touch 25
(Touch)

"Slovakian Rauta" Pan Sonic

"Hindquarters" Philip Jeck

Jon Wozencroft's Touch Records 25th Anniversary edition CD with exclusive tracks from: Oren Ambarchi, Biosphere, Fennesz, Bruce Gilbert, Ryoji Ikeda, Philip Jeck, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Jacob Kirkegaard, Mother Tongue, BJ Nilsen, Pan Sonic, Rosy Parlane, Peter Rehberg, Rafael Toral, Mark Van Hoen and Chris Watson. For 25 years, Touch has championed ambient and noise artists long before it was fashionable to do so, and here's hoping they will continue long after. Excellent tracks spanning generations, from tape-manipulators to modern laptop warriors.

ERIC SATIE
Francis Poulenc Plays the Piano Music of Eric Satie and Poulenc
(El Records)

"Gymnopedie No. 1"

Francis Poulenc was a close friend and ally of Erik Satie, and this disc features some of the most musically and historically important versions of several Satie pieces, as well as Poulenc's own excellent compositions. Satie is a key figure in early minimalism and very influential on many experimental jazz and rock musicians as well, and this is a definitive reissue of a hard-to-find gems, beautifully re-mastered from excellent early-'50s recordings

CORRUPTED
El Mundo Frio
(HG Fact)

"El Mundo Frio"

Japanese crusties cum Spanish revolucionarios unleash 71 epic minutes of their vulgar, bleak, drifting sludge sound. Elaborately packaged along with a hard-cover book, fans of Sunn0))), Electric Wizard and vintage sludge-punk need this!

COMMON PEOPLE
Of the People
(Fall Out)

"I Have Been Alone"

Originally released in 1969 on Capitol, this forgotten garage-psych gem was produced by "Lord" Tim Hudson (the Seeds, the Lollipop Shoppe) and arranged by none other than David Axelrod! The reissue contains several pre-LP self-released bonus tracks, but even without the extra stuff this record is well worth a second take.

VOICE OF THE SEVEN WOODS
An Hour Before Dawn
(Twisted Nerve)

Alongside a recent restock of B-Music plastic goodies (Finders Keepers and Twisted Nerve 45s) which include Susan Christie, Chris Harwood, Jane Weaver, SamandthePlants, and a super-limited UK 45 pressing of tracks from Diane Cluck's Oh Vanille CD, Other Music has also received a brand new Voice of the Seven Woods 45 from the Manchester based six-string-strummer, following up the first with more 'acidic-folk Amon Duul-isms' along with (ex-Broadcast) drummer Chris Walmsley.

An Other Music exclusive! Finders Keepers pressed up a limited number of 45s by two femme-folk-funksters, Chris Harwood (featuring musicians from Yes, The Strawbs, MacDonald and Giles, Juicy Lucy and produced by the legendary Miki Dallon) and Susan Christie, featuring two tracks from a future LP issue, an album that NEVER came out! Christie's single is a psychedelic take on country standards, her handcrafted tales of inner-city solitude are backed by a break heavy folk-funk rhythm section.

THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS

[GA] Geoff Albores
[DG] Daniel Givens
[GH] Gerald Hammill
[DH] Duane Harriott
[RH] Rob Hatch-Miller
[MK] Michael Klausman
[NL] Nicole Lang
[JM] Josh Madell
[DM] Doug Mosurock
[SM] Scott Mou
[MT] Mahssa Taghinia
[YZ] Yuzo



THANKS FOR READING
- all of us at Other Music