The Other Music Update

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	May 28, 2008


	FEATURED NEW RELEASES Ascend+Pentemple = SunnO))) Bonus CD! Tape Deepchord Spiritualized HEALTH James Pants Steinski Peter Broderick Living Is Hard (Various) Nigeria 70 (Various) Disco Italia (Various) Love, Peace & Poetry (Various)		The Lines Pluxus The Lodger Let's Ride (Psychic Circle Compilation) Steppas' Delight (Soul Jazz Compilation) Yoshi Wada ALSO AVAILABLE Booka Shade Midnight Juggernauts

MAY

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Fri 30

Sat 31

WIN TICKETS TO HENRY FLYNT'S FIRST US SHOW SINCE 1983
We're very excited to be announcing this very rare musical appearance! This Saturday, May 31st, maverick composer-philosopher Henry Flynt will play his first show in the States in 25 years, performing with Libby Flynt as the Flynts, along with Blues Control who open the night! We've one pair of tickets up for grabs, to enter, email tickets@othermusic.com. We'll be notifying the winner this Friday morning.

SATURDAY, MAY 31
GLASSLANDS: 289 Kent Avenue Williamsburg, Brooklyn

JUN

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Sat 07

TICKET GIVEAWAY TO MISSISSIPPI DELTA HERITAGE PROJECT CONCERTS
For the past month, Brooklyn-based presenting organization 651 ARTS has been celebrating the culture, artists and influence of the Mississippi Delta with the Mississippi Delta Heritage Project. (You can view a full listing of the remaining concerts, classes and activities off their website: www.651arts.org.) While this series is winding down next week, there are still lots of great events taking place, some of which we have tickets to give away to, listed below. To enter, send an email to enter@othermusic.com and please list the show you'd like to see in the subject line. We'll be picking one winner for each night.

SUNDAY, JUNE 1 @ BROOKLYN MASONIC TEMPLE:
Sharde Thomas (granddaughter of Otha Turner) and the Rising Star Fife and Drum + Toshi Reagon

THURSDAY, JUNE 5 @ KUMBLE THEATRE
Jimmy "Duck" Holmes and Marie Knight

FRIDAY, JUNE 6 @ KUMBLE THEATRE
Lobi Traore and Corey Harris

JUN

Sun 01

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WIN TICKETS TO DEEP SPACE W/ QUIET VILLAGE
The next installment of the always great Deep Space party is not be missed, as the cinematic Quiet Village (a/k/a Radio Slave's Matt Edwards and Joel Martin) will be stopping by to perform a very special live audio & visual set, along with resident Francois K. You can enter to win a pair of passes by emailing contest@othermusic.com. The two winners will also receive drink tickets and a copy of Quiet Villlage's debut CD, Silent Movie out on K7. Good luck!

CIELO: 18 Little West 12th Street NYC
10PM-3:30AM
$12 cash at the door
No Dress Code - Just an Open Mind
www.deepspacenyc.com
www.myspace.com/deepspacenyc

JUN

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UPCOMING OTHER MUSIC IN-STORE EVENTS
MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND: MONDAY, JUNE 9 @ 8:30PM
Shara Worden and Co. stop by the shop to perform an in-store in support of their forthcoming new album, A Thousand Shark's Teeth, out June 17, on Asthmatic Kitty. Download the first single, "Inside a Boy," off of Other Music Digital.

THURSTON MOORE & BYRON COLEY: SATURDAY, JUNE 14 @ 6:30PM - 8PM
A reading/signing/release party with Thurston Moore and Byron Coley, celebrating the publication of their great new no wave primer "No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York 1976-1980." Let's call this one the after-party for the Teenage Jesus & the Jerks/Information reunion gigs at the Knitting Factory the night before... quite a weekend!

OTHER MUSIC: 15 East 4th Street NYC
Free admission / Limited capacity


	PENTEMPLE $13.99 CD ASCEND $13.99 CD		PENTEMPLE O))) Presents... (Southern Lord) ASCEND Ample Fire Within (Southern Lord) VERY LIMITED SUNNO))) CD INCLUDED WHEN ASCEND AND PENTEMPLE ARE PURCHASED TOGETHER...WHILE SUPPLIES LAST This week, Southern Lord has blessed us with two HEAVY hitters! The first is a CD by Pentemple, which is a one-off improv performance by Sunn O)))'s Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley, Oren Ambarchi, Sin-Nanna, and Attila Csihar, a full-on aural assault, edited and mixed by Ambarchi. The second is Ascend's Ample Fire Within, a new collaboration between Greg Anderson and Gentry Densley. The two met when the legendary label Revelation put Anderson's former band Engine Kid and Densley's group Iceburn on tour together, and now, these two longtime friends release their first collaborative effort with influences ranging from Miles Davis to the Melvins! And if you buy these two CDs together, you will receive a VERY LIMITED CD-pressing of Sunn O)))'s Oracle! Originally a vinyl only release, this CD cannot be bought by itself and is only available as a free giveaway with the purchase of the Pentemple and Ascend discs. As you would expect, we only have a limited quantity so don't hesitate.


	$17.99 CD		TAPE Luminarium (Hapna) "Repeto" "Parade" Even before hearing it, I jumped at the chance to review the new Tape album. I knew that I could expect what every music-lover hopes to find in a new album: Something familiar and valued done in a fresh way that is mind opening. With Tape's Luminarium, I wasn't disappointed! There's a surplus of post-post-rock-indie-folktronica these days and luckily, Tape doesn't reside in that ghetto. Yes, they use acoustic instruments, sampled and played, alongside laptops that ooze field recordings and processed sounds but, like their comrades in arms Mountains, they use these elements with wide-open eyes and ears to create rooms of sound for us to reside in. As trite as it may sound, the most noticeable development in the world of Tape is the refined subtlety and gentleness that is made more engaging through the use of effortlessly meshed melodies. (Basically, their already solid game is improving all around.) More importantly, tracks begin, develop and resolve in non-obvious ways that are determined by the sounds as much as they are by the melodies. You'll be surprised how song-oriented this album is while it actually outdoes the previous records in subtlety, movement and refinement. Throughout Luminarium, familiar instruments are given a new clarity and personality, and there is an incredible balance of fullness and minimalism that demands listening not just out of curiosity, but pleasure. (Imagine that!) Although "Mystery Mutiny" uses very similar elements as the four preceding tracks, the results are very different. Developing ever so slowly, the song is absolutely engaging from start to finish and leaves you wanting more. Its individuality is enhanced with subtle details; doubling the harmonium sound locks the ear in place and ensures that none of the delicate shifts underneath are missed. "Dripstone" utilizes a simple piano and guitar line as its spinal column while another gorgeously soulful, squelching, loping Theremin-guitar(!) climbs and stumbles around it. It almost sounds like Hendrix doing a solo with Oval. Like "Mystery Mutiny," "Altamira" uses a doubled wooden flute melody that transmutes into icy strings that grab the heart as if no one else ever decided to double an instrument on a track...absolutely beautiful! Some obligatory end comments: 1. Probably Tape's best album to date. 2. Highly recommended. 3. For fans of Triosk, Mountains, recent Jan Jelinek, the Hired Hand soundtrack, the recent Efterklang, Mum, Tortoise, Fridge, Four Tet and any Canadian/Icelandic/otherwise post-post-rock/folktronica! [SM]


	$15.99 CD		DEEPCHORD Vantage Isle Sessions (Echospace) "Echospace Reshape" "Convextion Remix" Detroit ambient producer Rob Modell teams up with minimal house producers Gerard Hanson (a/k/a Convextion) and Stephen Hitchell to create this hypnotic collection of remixes that presents a lovely balance of soothing texture and simmering rhythm. Smooth subliminal sounds take the listener to a place where swirling strips of white noise soar above distant chords and stripped-down dub-inspired grooves in slowly unfolding tales of subtlety. "DC Mix I" immediately sets the subdued tone that saturates this compilation throughout, layering the few key ingredients of simple beats and atmospheric harmonies that progress at an almost subconscious pace. Though still restrained, "Cv313 Reduction" modestly assumes the role of the most energetic track, and is then revisited in the form of the beautifully haunting ambient counterpart "Cv313 Reduction II." Analog tape transfer lends a fuzzy warmth to these recordings that enhances the soft surface and deep body of the music, resulting in an entrancing soundspace that's hard to resist. [CPo]


	$11.99 CD		SPIRITUALIZED Songs in A&E (Fontana / Spaceman ) "Soul on Fire" "Death Take Your Fiddle" Jason Pierce traveled a rocky road returning to the Spiritualized world with Songs In A&E, his first new album under that moniker in five years. One is tempted to think that he, in typical enigmatic musician fashion, has been holed up in a castle in the south of France working (or not) on new tunes. In actuality, he spent the better part of two years in the accident & emergency ward (thus A&E) fighting a life threatening, if still somewhat mysterious disease. Interestingly, Pierce was able to regain musical momentum after his lengthy medical hiatus by working on a score to the new Harmony Korine film, Mister Lonely, and gives homage to the director by scattering six brief "Harmony" interludes on the new album. Prior to his illness, Pierce had by chance acquired a 1929 Gibson acoustic guitar, and, under its spell, proceeded to write the bulk of material for A&E using only this old American musical relic. This being the first time writing in this way, I wonder if he'll try it again given the effect on his health. Regardless, his loss is our gain, as this is some of his finest and most focused material to date. As expected, the material on A&E is awash in those things we've come to love about Spiritualized: gorgeous gospel harmonies, religious imagery as drug metaphor, that frail but powerful voice, and glorious and bluesy drone rock. What seems to have slightly changed is that the usual epic presentation has been reeled in a bit, perhaps due to Pierce's new songwriting process. Also, with lines like "you talk like your mother and your father... where'd you stand on the war...far from the bullets and bombs as they fall," is "Sweet Talk" Pierce's first political number? The fantastic "Death Take Your Fiddle" brings to mind Skip James' cold and desperate meditation on mortality from the hospital bed, "Washington DC Hospital Center Blues." "Soul on Fire" is perhaps Pierce's most perfect pop song, replete with optimistic lyrics like, "sweetheart, it may not be easy, but we're trying hard to hold on, trying to make it better." "Don't Hold Me Close" is a dreamy duet with Korine's wife Rachel, referencing elements of Hazelwood and Sinatra's best collaborations. The album fittingly closes with the lullaby "Goodnight Goodnight." Although with resignation he murmurs "funeral home" at the end of the song, Pierce has already proclaimed "there's better things for you and I," so all's well that ends. End the album does, but as further listens naturally follow, it gets better each time. A keeper for sure! [KC]


	$7.99 CD $7.99 MP3		HEALTH Disco (Lovepump Unlimited) "Lost Time (Pictureplane Rmx)" "Triceratops (CFCF Rmx)" An effort that makes equitable two mostly distinct ends of the knob-twiddling spectrum (dance-electro/noise-rock), DISCO still seems sonically surprising, even for those familiar with the resourcefulness of L.A.'s HEALTH. With but a short and sparse self-titled debut to their name (oh, and a large underground press cache and tons of shows), DISCO is a curious and compelling comment on their short career thus far. Consisting of a suite of remixes from friends and colleagues, this collection seems to strike such a wildly divergent pose from the desolate, angular, and abstract attitudes of their first record, that even keeping in mind that it is a remix album, it seems a different beast altogether, especially given HEALTH's limited output. Yet it makes sense the way that this release was conceived, as if HEALTH were dissociating itself in strides from the Boredoms/Liars/insert-art-rock-band-here comparisons garnered by their eponymous full-length, through these heavily interpretative remixes of tracks from that album. The elements that warranted a third (or fourth?) generation of noise-rock comparisons are not completely lost in the genre-hopping electro beats of DISCO; the deep percussion and dense atmospherics are processed with ease in their new contexts, in a more pointed and perhaps even more focused manner than the originals. And though many efforts, such as those by Acid Girls, Thrust Lab, or the well known Crystal Castles remix of "Crimewave," are content to take HEALTH out of an artspace and into the club (for us New Yorkers, that would be Studio B,) DISCO raises the question anew over each and every track of whether the two entities are mutually exclusive: how can groove, in tandem with the processed grime of the source material, lead us to a new understanding of each aspect, and to the boundaries of art and play? DISCO could introduce HEALTH to a whole new type of listener, and one wonders if it will bring the band to approach their next record differently, keeping in mind the result of these juxtapositions. One can hope, as DISCO is highly successful no matter which side of the spectrum you most identify with at the outset. [JW] Other Music Digital is offering a FREE SONG DOWNLOAD of "Lost Time (Pictureplane Rmx)," from HEALTH's DISCO album. Offer good until Friday, May 29.


	$14.99 CD $9.99 MP3		JAMES PANTS Welcome (Stones Throw) "We're Through" "You're the One" Genre-ambiguous producer/songwriter James Pants met Peanut Butter Wolf at a Texas rave on prom night, striking up a friendship after he offered to take the Stones Throw bossman record shopping. Seven years later, Spokane-based Pants has made his label debut (PBW acting as executive producer) with the aptly titled Welcome. Pants is an interesting sort of entry into Stones Throw's usual lineup of underground rappers and vintage soul reissues, alternating from hip-hop and dance-inspired tracks to explorations into throwback rock and R&B territory (Pants plays keyboards and guitar in addition to working beats and the occasional sample). Shades of Dilla come through on "You're the One," while "Crystal Lite" works the synth riffs and soulful falsettos into a perfect '80s pop-soul facsimile. While Pants sings on many of his tunes, it would be tough to call the record lyrical, as most tracks bear closer resemblance to cuts from those break-heavy production showcases by the likes of Madlib and Oh No. That said, his arrangements tend to lean towards the poppier side of things, making Welcome quite accessible across the board and perhaps particularly attractive to fans of RJD2 and other soul-hopping producers. [DS]


	$16.99 CDx2		STEINSKI What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Restrospective (Illegal Art) "Ain't No Thing" "Hot Spot" My first entrepreneurial project involved selling cassettes of New York hip-hop that I recorded from the radio to the kids at my junior high in Nebraska, the most popular tape being the one with "the teacher talking over breakdance beats." They were referring to the classic Double Dee & Steinski cut-up "Lesson 1 - The Payoff Mix," which is included here. After reading the liner notes to this overdue collection, I found out that vendors in Philly, NYC and London were doing the same thing, only they were selling the cassettes for 20 and 40 dollars a pop, while I was settling for five bucks and a pack of cherry-flavored Now & Later candy...damn! In any case, Steinski's funky hip-hop cut-up mixes from the '80s were extremely hard to find. None of the classic "Lessons 1-3" was ever released commercially (for fear of lawsuits), but they were extremely popular in the clubs and on New York radio. In hindsight, Steinski's remixing approach predates the sound collage production aesthetic of Prince Paul, Cut Chemist, Coldcut, Hank Shocklee and the Bomb Squad by 10 years, not to mention the "mash-up" style of 2manydj's, Girl Talk, Diplo, Optimo and the like. Tracks like "The Motorcade Sped On," which samples dialogue from the JFK assassination broadcast, to the hilarious ode to audio porn, "I'm Wild About That Thing," parallels the wacky, audio collage of Negativland and Stock, Hausen and Walkman. In a nutshell, these recordings are important audio documents of post-modern expression in popular music -- I guess. To these ears, this is some of the freshest dance music ever made and if you have even a passing interest in hip-hop, or are a fan of any of the aforementioned, I would consider this required listening. Judging by the name of this collection's label, I don't think this'll be around for too long. [DH]


	$15.99 CD $18.99 LP $9.99 MP3		PETER BRODERICK Float (Type) "A Snowflake" "A Beginning" Peter Broderick's Docile, released a couple of years back on Kning Disk, was a quiet and beautiful collection of solo piano musings, accent on the "quiet", the album earning its title by showcasing the open spaces between the notes as much as the haunting melodies. The Portland native relocated to Copenhagen last year to join the ranks of avant-folk collective Efterklang, and perhaps that group's lush sound influenced his own, as Float fills out the arrangements with strings and other orchestral flourishes and even the occasional vocal (check out "Another Glacier"). At times the record approaches pop bliss (albeit Sigur Ros style, not Beach Boys), or cinematic soundtrack vibes, but the album also has fully-conceived orchestral underpinnings with recurring themes running throughout. Brimming with pastoral beauty, Float proves 21-year-old Broderick to be one of the most promising modern classical composers on the scene, his emotive soundscapes comparable to the works of Michael Nyman, Max Richter, and Harold Budd. Esteemed company for sure, but he is that good. [JM]


	$17.99 CD $21.99 LPx2		VARIOUS ARTISTS Living Is Hard: West African Music in Britain, 1927-1929 (Honest Jon's) "Garse Yer Fido" Oni Johnson "Asin Asin Part 2" Kumasi Trio Living Is Hard is the latest release from the excellent Honest Jon's label, this collection serving as a rare, raw glimpse at the music of musicians who migrated from West Africa to England during the late 1920s. What would eventually become a steady cross-culture exchange began with the Zonophone Record label and, oddly enough, Fela Kuti's grandfather, J.J. Ransome-Kuti. Like listening to old 78s of blues, jazz, or folk, Living Is Hard is full of pops, scratches, and surface noise, but the feeling and emotions of the musicians still come through -- it's as much haunting as it is engaging. Many of these early recordings originated from Christian hymns, folk songs, minstrel shows, and other popular styles of the time, yet were sung in nearly every West African dialect. Mostly focused on voice, with the occasional percussion, guitar, banjo, or piano accompaniment, this is deep roots music from deeply rooted people. Leave it to Honest Jon's to dig deeper and go beyond the soon-to-be exhausted funk of Nigeria. If you are really interested in the heart and soul of African music, you'll definitely want to check out Living Is Hard. Includes extensive liner notes, to help you make sense of it all. [DG]


	$14.99 CD		VARIOUS ARTISTS Nigeria 70, Lagos Jump (Strut) "Yabis" Sir Shina Peters "Everybody Likes Something Good" Ify Jerry Crusade Strut is back in full force with this long, long awaited and somewhat unexpected follow-up to one of the label's most popular releases. The second installment of Nigeria 70, Lagos Jump features more fantastic selections of Afrobeat, highlife, and funk from the motherland, with all but forgotten greats like Sir Victor Uwaifo, Peter King, Olufemi Ajasa among many others. With heavy grooves, big group energy, and that classic Afrobeat swing there's little not to like. While this isn't as expansive as Strut's original, now long out of print comp (which came with an audio documentary CD), Lagos Jump is a nice companion piece, and an excellent place to start your journey. [DG]


	$14.99 CD		VARIOUS ARTISTS Disco Italia: Essential Italo Disco Classics 1977-1985 (Strut) "Now Baby Now" Kano "Let Me Be Your Radio" Red Dragon Band Much loved for their seminal Disco Not Disco compilations which culled together underground dance classics, Strut now sets course to a whole other leftfield land: Disco Italia. The collection starts out right, with one of the most coveted 12-inches of the genre, Five Letters' "The Kee Tha Tha," which happens to be one of my favorites on the comp, and is as funky as they come. Claudio Simonetti -- who is best known as the band leader of Goblin, the group behind so many of those classic Italian film scores for the legendary Dario Argento and the epic Dawn of the Dead -- takes over with Kassa on the next track ("Brazilian Dancer"). It's a testament to his production work that Simonetti's other contribution to this collection is one of the heaviest hitters of the mix, this time with his very first dance outfit Easy Going, the pomp and stomp of "Do it Again" being one of the more inventive and vivid dance tracks I've heard -- just listen to how dirty that chorus is! The Max Essa club mix of Tullio De Piscipo's "E Fatto El Sorde! E?" gives one of the clearest insights as to how the Italo Disco bug has gotten into our system at this time, a visceral, playful, and clever track that starts with a lovely lull and ends with an exuberant bang. There are many highlights in both production and performance, this compilation serving as a great entry point into a genre so influential to the world of electronic dance music, from house to pop, from the '80s to 08. As with most Strut releases, Disco Italia comes with an extremely interesting and informative booklet of photos, art, and words written by a true authority, Bill Brewster, the author of "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life." Get your Disco Italia goin on! [JW]


	$17.99 CD $17.99 LP		VARIOUS ARTISTS Love, Peace & Poetry: Chilean Psychedelic Music (Normal) "La Realidad" Sacros "I Wonder Who" Aguaturbia Quietly releasing their tenth compilation of psychedelic music from America, Latin America, Asia, Britian, Brazil and Africa, Shadoks Music continues to unearth some amazing folk, rock, and outright jams, Love, Peace & Poetry style. The country of choice this time around is Chile, and the groups here include erotic collector fave Aguaturbia and the ultra sought after Los Blops, among others. A parallel to what revolution sounded like in the rest of the world during the tumultuous era of the late '60s and '70s, Chilean psychedelic music operated in the time of the Pinochet dictatorship, where rock bands risked their lives to perform and record, fearing imprisonment or exile. Even the church-minded Sacros had their music destroyed by the military, with the poppy, electric 12-string folk of "La Realidad" being one of the only surviving songs. It's a stark contrast to the controversial Aguaturbia, whose band members posed nude for the first album cover and whose second record featured lead singer Denise Corales in a crucified pose. But both groups are perfect examples of the diversity found on this compilation, be it flute-lilted and lightly-strummed folk to winding bass and wild electric guitar jams. Most songs are sung in Spanish, such as the extremely popular, Beatles-biting Los Beat 4, but there are a couple exceptions, like my favorite, the trippy, hip-swinging "I Wonder Who" from Aguaturbia. Another must-have from the Love, Peace & Poetry camp, all these songs have a sound and history of their own worth checking out -- even if all the comps feature a sexy but politically questionable blonde bombshell on the cover. [LG]


	$13.99 CD $9.99 MP3		THE LINES Memory Span (Acute) "White Night" "House of Cracks" Dan Selzer has been talking about doing a Lines reissue since I met him eight years ago, well before his Acute label surfaced in earnest. And after all that time, finally, here it is, a band truly belonging to the substrata of the post-punk so much to have vanished by and large from public record. Extant in the UK from 1977 through the mid-80s, Rico Conning's group specialized in nervy, tense pop, with finer qualities so subtle that they take several listens to invade listener consciousness and become part of the shared experience. The group made two LPs and a handful of singles and EPs; Memory Span collects the latter, and appends two unreleased 1980 demos. Discover the unique and rarefied sounds of a band that offered feedback on the times, and followed its own path, from the early pop sounds of "White Night" to the experimental dub of "House of Cracks" and "Old Town." The sounds of the few are now for the many. Partake. [DM]


	$15.99 CD $12.99 MP3		PLUXUS Solid State (Kompakt) "Transient" "Contax" Another Swedish signing for Kompakt. Pluxus are similar to the Field (but not as "psychedelic"), the three-piece group connecting the sweet with the synthetic to create tracks that balance the uniquely sophisticated Swedish take on electro-pop (heartfelt and serious as opposed to goofball, ironic and silly) with forward-thinking dancefloor/electronica elements in various degrees. "Bootstrap" sounds like a synthstrumental Daft Punk with its fist-pumping, foot-stomping but altogether sweet vibe while "Perm" could be a poppier version of Pantha Du Prince. Sweden has been steadily blurring the lines between indie/techno/pop and electronica lately and this release is part of that trend. I can totally see this on an iPod playlist right next to the Knife (not as dark), Daft Punk (not as disco), Santo Gold (not as pop), Kim Hiorthoy's DJ Kicks mix (would fit right in but without vocals), Dntel (same as previous), Hot Chip, Justice, Metro Area, Lindstrom etc. [SM]


	$13.99 CD $15.99 LP $9.99 MP3		THE LODGER Life Is Sweet (Slumberland) "The Conversation" "Running Low" Just when you've sworn to give Britpop another rest, along comes a record that reminds you why you fell in love with groups like the Smiths, Orange Juice, the Wedding Present, et al. in the first place. Life Is Sweet, the Lodger's follow-up to last year's Grown-Ups finds the Leeds band fleshing out the production a little, adding an occasional violin or pedal steel to their mix of jangly guitars and catchy, bittersweet melodies, and what results is a sophomore album that is arguably as great as their debut. One of many highlights, "The Good Old Days" marries the squeaky-clean pop of Aztec Camera with a little bit of Franz Ferdinand's dance-punk swagger, while "Famous Last Words" ends the album on a high note, the band slowly working their way from a gentle shuffling ballad into a soaring jam propelled by the stereo strums of a 12-string and some spacey slide and vibrato guitar. Had Life Is Sweet been released in an earlier decade, we'd probably be pronouncing this a classic. [CPo]


	$17.99 CD		VARIOUS ARTISTS Let's Ride: 20 Popsike Excursions from the UK & Europe - Fairytales Can Come True Vol. 3 (Psychic Circle) "Riding with the Milkman" Winston G "Mississippi Paddleboat" The Chanters Nick Saloman (Bevis Frond) and the Psychic Circle label have been putting out compilations of various '60s/early-'70s genres (glam, blue-eyed soul, garage, prog, psych, mod dancers, groovy instrumentals) at an alarming rate, but with a great amount of quality control. Like most of the label's previous collections, Let's Ride focuses primarily on the British Isles, and it proves there's still a wealth of undiscovered light psychedelia out there. Beautiful orchestration, perfect harmonies, and infectious choruses is the order of the day. I'll leave the biggest mysteries and surprises for you to discover courtesy of the liners, but there's a complete gem of a pop song from a London-based family band, a sunshine hit from a band of Americans stationed in Paris and soon-to-be classics by popsike mainstays Mike Batt ("Mary Goes Round") and Tony Hazzard ("The Sound of the Candyman's Tumpet"). If you've enjoyed other similar series, most prominently the now out of print Fading Yellow and Circus Days sets, and the more recent Soft Sounds for Gentle People, and Curt Boettcher's work, this is guaranteed to please. Don't forget to check out the first two volumes, Fairytales Can Come True (if only for the song by PJ Proby's hairdresser!) and Fairy Cakes for Tea, in this series either. Perhaps the ultimate in summer music. [AK]


	$24.99 CDx2		VARIOUS ARTISTS Steppas' Delight (Soul Jazz) "Round the World Girls" Uncle Sam "9Samurai" Kode9 Soul Jazz continues to chronicle the rise and current state of the genre known as dubstep. Born and bread in the UK, this music phenomena rose from the ashes of 2-step and could even be considered a mellowed-out reaction to the rapid-fire pulse of grime. A cerebral melange of staggered percussion, rolling bass lines, and crisp snare snaps with plenty of bleeps, crashes, and bubbles to keep things moving, this two-disc collection features an excellent cross-section of production styles and takes of this ever-growing underground movement. While Soul Jazz's earlier Box of Dub compilations focused more on the overtly dub-infused methodology within the scene, Steppas' Delight is a much more diverse showcase, with mostly instrumental tracks from figureheads like Kode9, Benga, the Bug, Gatekeeper, and Shackleton, as well as several freshman entries, with a few vocals dropped by Warrior Queen, Skepta, Marita, and Grizla. Eighteen tracks in all with excellent liner notes that outline the influence of DJs, clubs, shops, and riddims that have helped propelled the scene to its worldwide status. An audio delight for sure. [DG]


	$21.99 CD		YOSHI WADA The Appointed Cloud (Omega Point) "The Appointed Cloud" "The Appointed Cloud" Commissioned for the Great Hall at the New York Hall of Science in 1987, Japanese avant-composer Yoshi Wada's The Appointed Cloud made use of an enormous computerized pipe organ, designed with the space's unique architectural resonance in mind. It's an undoubtedly massive work of ponderous drone, punctuated melody rhythmic percussion, and bagpipe bleat, underscored by immense tone field shifts. This marks the first release of this recording since its original performance, and its plangent, "all-business" approach fits in well with the venue's mission two decades ago. Quite a fine example of modern composition matching its environment. [DM]


	$13.99 CD		BOOKA SHADE The Sun and the Neon Light (Get Physical) "The Sun and the Neon Light" While Booka Shade are still firmly anchored in clubland, The Sun & the Neon Light is more restrained and darker. There's a melancholic feeling to most parts of the album, yet it still works as dance music, something that's very hard to pull of (Carl Craig comes to mind, and Massive Attack to some degree.) As strange as it sounds, it's a headphone house/techno record for the dancefloor. While this album might not spawn as many club bangers as Movements, "Charlotte" being the main exception, The Sun... is more evocative and multi-faceted, and will ultimately outlast any other Booka Shade releases to date.


	$13.99 CD		MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS Dystopia (Astralwerks) "Road to Recovery" The latest sensation on the dance rock/arena techno hybrid scene is Australia's Midnight Juggernauts. In similar style to the now iconic and ubiquitous Daft Punk and Justice, MJ are sure to send the dayglo nu-rave kids into rapture (no pun intended, promise!) with their masterful EQ-ing and filtering, and an abundance of fist-punching choruses. Music made for getting sweaty, making new friends, and getting it on. And isn't that what it's all about?


	PHONE ORDERS Phone orders are accepted at (212) 477-8150 (ext. #2, mailorder) Mon-Fri, Noon - 7pm EST EMAIL For general inquiries or other information please email sales@othermusic.com. Do not reply to this message. REMOVE This is an automated list. If you would like to be removed for any reason, please visit: digital.othermusic.com/subscribe.php		THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS [KC] Kevin Coultas [LG] Lisa Garrett [DG] Daniel Givens [DH] Duane Harriott [AK] Andreas Knutsen [JM] Josh Madell [DM] Doug Mosurock [SM] Scott Mou [CPo] Chris Polcyn [DS] Daniel Salas [JW] Josiah Wolfson THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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