ARPANET Quantum Transposition (Rephlex) cd 15.98

ARRUGA, LORENZO, DAVE LOMBARDO & FRIENDS Vivaldi: The Meeting (Thirsty Ear) cd 15.98
Yes, ex-SLAYER drummer, Dave Lombardo drumming furiously along to VIVALDI. Simultaneously amazing and ridiculous. Produced by Alberto Contini, who some metalheads might remember as A.C. Wild from Bulldozer (Italy's answer to Venom). Highly recommended. Sort of. One of those completely uncalled-for projects like, uh, well I can't think of one quite like this actually. Note: the Vivaldi is not "arranged for thrash-metal", "switched-on" or anything like that - it's straight operatic classical Vivaldi with The Great Lombardo incongrously adding his trap kit double bass stylings... Apparently inspired by a real encounter that Vivaldi himself had with a Cuban percussionist several hundred years ago (Lombardo is Cuban-born). Possibly the ultimate novelty record of the year (1999) so far!

ARSONISTS As The World Burns (Matador) cd 13.98
Hip hop on Matador! One of the songs: Lt. Worf & Chewbacca!

ARSONISTS As The World Burns (Matador) 2lp 10.98
Hip hop on Matador! One of the songs: Lt. Worf & Chewbacca!

ARSONISTS Date of Birth (Matador) cd 14.98
Bushwick, Brooklyn-based Arsonists release their second album. Apparently the trio of MCs have a really loyal following, but maybe that's based on their live shows cos I find their rhyming a little clunky and stumbling, somehwat awkward and kind of obvious. If there are any hedz out there wanna disagree with me, I'd welcome your comments -- I *wanna* get it, I just can't see the light.
RealAudio clip: "Language Arts"

ART BEARS The Art Box (ReR) 6cd 98.00
Finally! The Art Box sees the light of day. A gorgeous boxset from one of the most influential / seminal / legendary art-rock bands ever. For those out of the loop, the Art Bears featured guitarist / composer Fred Frith, drummer / percussionist Chris Cutler, and vocalist Dagmar Krause. This boxset contains the band's first three albums (Hopes & Fears, Winter Songs, The World As It Is Today) all remastered and gussied up. Also included are two discs of remixes and reworkings from Christian Marclay, Ground Zero, the Residents, Biota and loads more. And finally a whole disc of unreleased rarities!

ART BRUT Bang Bang Rock & Roll (Downtown) cd 13.98
Now available domestically!
When you first put this on your stereo, it might almost have you convinced that it's some lost '80s British post-punk band, that is, until you zero in on the lyrics. Majorly hipster, irony-laden, clever-clever phrases spoken-sung in such an over the top British accent that it nears jokeish Mark E. Smith impersonations. In the first song "Formed A Band" there's even a reference to it -- "And yes, this is my singing voice, it's not irony, it's not Rock'n'Roll, we're just talking, to the Kids." Pretty silly stuff playing dress-up in The Fall's closet. But still pretty darn cool. Funny rock anecdote / rumor: Art Brut's first single was on Rough Trade, who were also planning on releasing their full length, that is until supposedly one of the Rough Trade head honchos went and saw them play, decided they were the worst, most amateur rock band he had ever seen and had them promptly dropped from Rough Trade!
MPEG Stream: "Formed A Band"
MPEG Stream: "Moving To L.A."

ART BRUT It's A Bit Complicated (Banana) cd 14.98
Despite the title of Art Brut's second full length, this doesn't seem a bit complicated at all. And although their singer Eddie Argos still sounds like he could very well be Mark E Smith's smartaleck kid brother, the trademark sneering cynical tone is softened by lighter, more juvenile topics -- "Sorry if my accent's flawed I learnt my German from a 7" record." and "People in love lie around and get fat. I didn't want us to end up like that." Ho ho! No shortage of jaded, sardonic witticisms, but unlike the pointed vitriol of Mr. Smith, Art Brut isn't tackling any big issues or aiming to lower the socio-political boom on anyone any time soon. No rallying cries here, their lyrics are more self deprecating and defeatist -- "Life is what you make it, and I made mine a mess." But while the vocals might be exuding an apathetic shrug, they get roped into the good times, uplifted and fueled by the band's crunchy guitars and snappy drumming. Super tongue-in-cheeky London pop.
MPEG Stream: "People In Love"
MPEG Stream: "I Will Survive"

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO A Jackson In Your House/Message To Our Folks (Charly / BYG / Actuel) cd 14.98
BACK IN STOCK! We thought these the cds in Charly's fantastic reissue series of stuff from the French free jazz label BYG/Actuel were gone forever, but lo! here they are again. Dunno what's up, but get 'em while you can. This classic AEC disc features Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman and Malachi Favors, jazz titans all, recorded live in Paris summer '69. Wild & peaceful. "Great black music" indeed.

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO A.A.C.M. Great Black Music / A Jackson In Your House (BYG / Actuel) lp 16.98
Recorded at Studio Davout in Paris on August 12, 1969. Released last year on CD with another amazing document "A Jackson In Your House", this reissue restores the original gatefold artwork and is pressed on 180 gram vinyl. LP only for now...

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO Bap-Tizum (4 Men With Beards) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Originally released in 1973 on the Atlantic label, 'Bap-Tizum' is highly regarded as one of the finest moments in the vast output of the Art Ensemble. Recorded in 1972 during the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, this dynamic performance is a testament to the brilliance and intensity of the group. Not just for jazz heads, the AEC intertwined elements of African funk, tribal rhythms and poetry with their unique brand of avantgarde sturctures and improvisations. Remastered from the original tapes, pressed on audiophile 180 gram HQ vinyl and packaged in a heavy stock gatefold sleeve with new, detailed liner notes.

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO Certain Blacks (America) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
WOW. And do we mean WOW!! Fifteen classic free jazz records from the late sixties / early seventies, long out of print, finally getting the ULTRA deluxe reissue treatment. Incredibly limited, these will probably be out of print before you know it.
Comes in a gorgeous diecut fullcover three panel sleeve, with new artwork, as well as a huge booklet with the original album sleeve notes, new liner notes in french and english as well as a bunch of cool photos. So nice!

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO Chi-Congo (Fuel) cd 13.98

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO Les Stances A Sophie (Universal Sound) cd 19.98
Recorded in France in 1970, 'Les Stances...' features all the Art Ensemble regulars (Bowie, Jarman, Mitchell, and Favors) but holds the distinction of featuring two new members, drummer Don Moye, and more strangely, Bowie's wife Fontella Bass, a fairly successful soul singer. That sort of explains the unique sound of this recording, soulful vocals AND lyrics alongside the traditional Art Ensmble sound.

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO Phase One (America) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
WOW. And do we mean WOW!! Fifteen classic free jazz records from the late sixties / early seventies, long out of print, finally getting the ULTRA deluxe reissue treatment. Incredibly limited, these will probably be out of print before you know it.
Comes in a gorgeous diecut fullcover three panel sleeve, with new artwork, as well as a huge booklet with the original album sleeve notes, new liner notes in french and english as well as a bunch of cool photos. So nice!

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO Reese And The Smooth Ones (Fuel 2000) cd 12.98
The Art Ensemble's approach to improvisation is far more sparse and delicate on "Reese And The Smooth Ones" than many of their other releases, although not neccessarily less complex. Much room is given to spare, individual instrumental expression, in which the Ensemble sretch far outside their primary instruments to include whistles, marimba, banjo, gongs, bells, steel drums and more. Recorded in Paris in 1969.
RealAudio clip: "Reese / The Smooth Ones (Part One)"

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO With Fontenella Bass (America) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
WOW. And do we mean WOW!! Fifteen classic free jazz records from the late sixties / early seventies, long out of print, finally getting the ULTRA deluxe reissue treatment. Incredibly limited, these will probably be out of print before you know it.
Comes in a gorgeous diecut fullcover three panel sleeve, with new artwork, as well as a huge booklet with the original album sleeve notes, new liner notes in french and english as well as a bunch of cool photos. So nice!

ART FLEURY I Luoghi Del Potere (Die-Schachtel) cd 27.00
There's thankfully more than a few labels whose reliable track record and special aesthetic makes us ALWAYS interested in what they're putting out. Several examples: EM Records, Hapna, Ektro, Holy Mountain, Paradigms, Lampse, and Andee's own tUMULt (of course). Also among those "likely essential" labels is Italy's Die Schachtel, an outfit that either digs up the most wonderful Italian experimental obscurities from the '70s or presents the most intriguing new underground bands from their country, always in super-snazzy packaging. Unfortunately, 'cause so much of their output is so great, it's tough for us to keep up with 'em all, but here at least is a review of our of their more recent gems, a cd reissue of an unusual 1980 record by what was a young Italian group called Art Fleury, who played shows with the likes of Area and Henry Cow and was right there on the cutting edge of politically and musically radical avant-prog, Rock In Opposition sound-making... This album of theirs, the title of which means "The Places Of Power", was apparently conceived as an imaginary soundtrack of sorts, and it's indeed quite soundtracky, you could imagine this being the score to a very arty, serious and suspenseful Italian film. It's a sonic collage that effectively deploys skittering percussion and tape-splicing studio fuckery, instrumental prog bombast and jazz improv freedom, the proceedings often infused with moody textures of glitch and crackle, visited by musical cues or voices set amidst radio static, as if sampled from a random spin of the dial. This is very much in keeping with the sounds of modern-day Die Schachtel acts like A and Christa Pfangen, and their colleagues 3/4hadbeeneliminated. We're also reminded of AQ faves Village Of Savoonga, and to several of Art Fleury's contemporaries or near-contemporaries like Faust, This Heat, and Nurse With Wound. You probably get the idea: recommended!
This cd comes packaged in a oversized cardboard box, inclosing a booklet with liner notes along with a poster of the album's black & white cover graphic of a clenched fist. By the way, while six tracks are listed, there's only five actually indexed on the cd, implying that two are run together... thus we might not have gotten the titles of our sound clips right (i.e "e=mc2" might be "La Morte Al Lavoro" actually).
MPEG Stream: "e=mc2"
MPEG Stream: "L'Overdose"
MPEG Stream: "Uno Spettro Si Aggira Per"

ART LESSING The Plastic Couch (self-released) cd-r 9.98
Bay Area sound artist Art Lessing is one prolific d.i.y. fellow. Each year without fail he releases at least one cd-r of his living room recorded aural creations, and we've got his latest one. His musical roamings know no boundaries freewheelin' from neo-folk rambles ("Plastic Couch") to buzzy space rock ("Badly") to hazy contemplative minimal guitar resonance ("Tinkle Star") to Ween-ish pitch-shifted fuckery ("Moe The Slow"). Likewise, his battery of instruments includes many unconventional homemade implements. Ooooeeee, this is a strange one and it draws customer queries each time it's played in the store.
MPEG Stream: "Badly"
MPEG Stream: "Moe The Slow"

ART OF NOISE Into Battle With The Art Of Noise / 20th Anniversary Edition (Repertoire) 2cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Classic first album finally reissued on cd with bonus stuff on a second disc!

ART OF PRIMITIVE SOUND Musical Instruments From Prehistory The Paleolithic (Hic Sunt Leones) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Conceptually, this record seemed destined to be right up AQ's alley. The next Conet Project?! Maybe not...Recordings made in natural environments, using only pre-historic instruments; magnolia leaf rattles, ribbon reeds, slate slabs, bamboo stalks, branches, swan feather quill, egyptian sugar cane, oak sticks, sea urchin rattles, cow horns, porcupine quills, dried pomegranates and stalactites(!). The sound is occasionally beautiful and dark, reminiscent of No Neck Blues Band and other stumbling drum circle folk, but unfortunately veers dangerously close to straight up new age. Not as fantastic as we had hoped, but still definitely worth checking out.

ART ZOYD u.B.I.Q.U.e (Inpossible) cd 15.98
Brand new disc from this long-running Belgian art-rock orchestra. Just as creepy as any of their early '80s chamber rock classics, "u.B.I.Q.U.e" is a "symphonic poem" for guitars, saxophones, trumpets, trombones, tuba, drums, and samplers. The samplers bring in an 'industrial' vibe that synchs up with the album's inspiration, the works of cult sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick.

ARTEMIEV, EDWARD Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker (Electroshock) cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Russian electronic music composer Edward Artemiev is certainly best known for his film soundtrack work, especially his scores for famed director Andrei Tarkovskiy's weird and beautiful, avant-garde sci-fi films like Stalker and Solaris from the 1970s. Artemiev's synth music & orchestrations are appropriately moody, ranging from blissful and serene to the quite eerie and ominous... Previously his soundtracks were available as very expensive Japanese imports (now super hard to find, if not entirely out of print), so we were happy to be able to finally track down and stock this Russian disc compiling music from three of Artemiev/Tarkovskiy's most sought-after scores. Four tracks from Stalker, seven from Solaris (including a Bach piece arranged by Artemiev), and one from Mirror. Plus, the composer's grandiose 1989 "Dedication to Andrei Tarkovskiy" is the final, nine-minute track on this disc. Late news: Byram is convinced that these are re-recordings of the original film scores done by Artemiev in the late '80s, not the original (presumably lost) tapes. Still, quite nice.
RealAudio clip: "Stalker - Theme"
RealAudio clip: "Stalker - Train"
RealAudio clip: "Solaris - Station"

ARTHUR & YU In Camera (Hardly Art) cd 11.98
Yeay! We have a new pop crush on our hands. Arthur & Yu come from the Pacific Northwest and offer up some delicious and classy timeless tunes that are so perfect and summery. Arthur & Yu is actually the work of Grant Olsen and Sonya Westcott. Together they follow in the footsteps of such luminous duos as Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra, making beautiful music both breezy and subtle. Like the more twee and dreamy early moments of Belle & Sebastian or the smart sweetness of Camera Obscura covering a Vetiver song, Arthur & Yu have found themselves a perfect place alongside pop's elite with this debut. We'll be sitting on the porch sipping fresh lemonade for the rest of summer with this one spinning on the stereo. So nice!
MPEG Stream: "There Are So Many Birds"
MPEG Stream: "Lion's Mouth"
MPEG Stream: "Absurd Heroes Manifestos"

ARTI & MESTIERI Giro Di Valzer Per Domani (Akarma) cd 16.98
Reissue of the second album by this '70s Italian band (follow up to their "Tilt: Immagini Per Un Orecchio" reviewed last list) and it's another slice of Mahavishnu/Crimson style prog.

ARTI & MESTIERI Tilt: Immagini Per Un Orecchio (Akarma) cd 16.98
Snappy Italian prog-rock originally released in 1974 on Cramps records. Reminiscent of King Crimson or even Henry Cow, Arti & Mestieri move between light and jazzy-but-frenetic riffs to heavy blues influenced prog. Using a very well rounded out line up of insane drumming, bass, piano, electric piano, analog synth, mellotron, hammond, electric & acoustic guitars, violin, soprano & baritone sax plus clarinet, vibes and even a little bit of singing.

ARTIFACT SHORE Fun Is Near (Interference Shift) cd ep 9.98
We carried a split release some time ago by this Minneapolis band and SF's Linedotstar (see our review for the details)... and quite a cool one it was! On the opening track "2 In 24" on their latest cdep Fun Is Near, Artifact Shore initially seem to be continuing on with their prickly post-post-rock blend of noise abrasions and aggressive rhythms. The very next song however reveals other facets of the band's scope. The title track flows a bit smoother and more melodious, gently fuzzy and maybe even a bit shoegazerish, but still with periodic bursts of distortion. And so these five tracks progress, gradually from fervent sharp insistence into drowsy near-poptronic stuttery dreaminess.
MPEG Stream: "2 In 24"
MPEG Stream: "Stupid Coma"

ARTIFACT SHORE / LINEDOTSTAR Landscape Removal (Interference Shift) cd 9.98
Landscape Removal is a split release between Minneapolis band Artifact Shore and Bay Area solo artist Linedotstar. You get four tracks apiece. Be forewarned, the pale green blue hued cover doesn't really offer any indication of the sounds contained within. The cd begins with a blast of abrasive industrial noise from the former. Artifact Shore's four tracks are propelled by a stormy rhythmic undercurrent and bristly effected angstful male vocals. Linedotstar's aural offerings are considerably more gentle composed of stuttery electronics, guitar samples, airy drones and wispy melodies. Quite a contrast of dark and light, imposing solid masses and soothing vaporous ephemera.
MPEG Stream: ARTIFACT SHORE "The Taken"
MPEG Stream: LINEDOTSTAR "Ascension"

ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE Evaporation (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Easily the most high concept Celebrate Psi Phenomenon release so far, Evaporation is one 47 minute track, assembled from numerous 'sound paintings' based on the concept of, obviously, evaporation. But evaporation in all facets of the world and our lives, the change from one state to another, changes in thought and behavior, everything. All contructed and recorded by Danish composer / sound artist Slavek Kwi, Evaporation is a subtle sonic world constructed from microscopic sound events, as well as everyday sonic intrusions, wind and conversation and clinking silverware and splashing water, but all subsumed into the whole, a vast expanse of gurgling electronics, crystalline shimmers, muter blips and bleeps, rumbling reverberations, ringing overtones, and all manner of miniature sound, interrupted halfway through, but only briefly, by a thnderstorm of rainlike sound, which quickly recedes as the piece resumes its barely there sonic metamorphosis. Definitely requires close and active listening, but for the listener who IS willing to lean in close and explore Artificial Memory Trace's slowly evaporating world, the reward is quite delicate and subtly beautiful. SUPER LIMITED AS ALWAYS!! NOT SURE WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET MORE WHEN THESE ARE GONE!
MPEG Stream: "Evaporation"

ARTIFICIUM SANGUIS Ye Olde Demo Taype (self-released) cd-r 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This first release from local black metal horde Artificium Sanguine was a pleasant surprise. Well, as pleasant as a spiked gauntlet to the gut can be. We were a little skeptical with such a joke-y title, after all, how grim could it be? Well, pretty grim actually. Very lo-fi, and buzzy and hyper blown out, this recording manages to capture the fury and majesty we've witnessed Artificium Sanguis struggle to exude live. Which isn't surprising, since black metal has never really existed as a live experience anyway. It's all about the home recorded misanthropy, spread by word of mouth, cd-r and tape trading, and Ye Olde Demo Taype (I chuckle/cringe even typing it) follows in well worn frosty footprints. While not quite as fucked up and dementedly genius as San Franciso black metal legends Weakling or any of the local scene's current one man bands (Leviathan, Crebain, Draugar, etc.), this is pretty fierce and dark, channelling the spirt of Bathory and Celtic Frost through classic Norwegian black metal and into something properly head banging and soul crushing.
MPEG Stream: "Unholiness Night"

ARTIMUS PYLE Civil Dead (Prank) cd 10.98
First off, let me just say that Artimus Pyle is one of the best person's-name-as-band-name ever, second only to Lynyrd Skynyrd (and oddly enough, the real Artimus Pyle just happened to be a member of L.S.). Pounding furious crusty grind from this Bay Area super group (featuring members of What Happens Next?, Fuckface, Los Rudiments...). This posthumous cd collects most if not all of their of their recorded output.

ARZACHEL s/t (Akarma) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Akarma does their mini-LP sleeve digipack reissue thing with this 1969 British psych gem -- "The definitive British psych album" says Nick Saloman of Bevis Frond, in fact -- and it's well worth checking out for fans of early Floyd, Cream, The Nice, and that T2 disc we reviewed a few lists back. Arzachel not only had a weird name, the band members had unlikely names (pseudonyms, actually) too. Meet guitarist Simeon Sasparella (aka Steve Hillage, later of Gong fame), drummer "Basil Dowling", faux-Kenyan bassist "Njerogi Gategaka", and organ player "Sam Lee-Uff", actually one Dave Stewart (not the Eurythmics guy) who is better known for being in progsters Egg later on.
The first half of this album features their poppier psych/garage numbers, including the lovely instrumental "Queen St. Gang", which seems to feature the "Hey Joe" bass line coupled with the melody from the theme to The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly! The second half of the album indulges in extended heavy psych jams of the sort Arzachel specialized in playing at London's tripped out Middle Earth club. The acid blues of "Leg" sounds like an organ-led Cactus, while the howling, epic "Metempsychosis" is nearly seventeen minutes of primitive, pounding, distortion-filled psychedelia that could be mistaken for Amon Duul II. Good stuff! With their teenage enthusiasm and ambition, the Arzachel boys managed to wax a classic -- totally of their times in so many ways and yet unique and timeless as well. Doubtless Simeon, Basil, Njerogi, and Sam, with pseudonyms discarded, improved their musical skills in subsequent years, yet can anything from their later proggy careers really stand up to Arzachel?
RealAudio clip: "Garden Of Earthly Delights"
RealAudio clip: "Queen St. Gang"
RealAudio clip: "Clean Innocent Fun"

AS MERCENARIAS O Comeco Do Fim Do Mundo (The Beginning Of The End Of The World): Brasilian Post-Punk 1982-88 (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
As Mercenarias were one of the highlights of the Soul Jazz compilation The Sexual Life Of The Savages, which alongside the superior Nao Wave compilation introduced us to the Brazilian post-punk scene of the '80s. Like plenty of their contemporaries around the globe, this all-women quartet wore their influences on their sleeves, especially early Gang of Four, Nina Hagen, The Dead Kennedies, and Liliput. Not surprisingly, As Mercenarias dabble throughout the broad spectrum of what punk could mean, one track exploding as a taut pogo punk anthem then the next might be a sinewy art-rock tune sounding like a less dubby Slits track with a hell of a lot more fury behind the spidery guitar work and serpentine basslines. Where Soul Jazz sort of dropped the ball on The Sexual Life Of The Savages comp was choosing to include some of late '80s tracks drenched in studio production slickness, but they the mark in uncovering the spittle and contempt of As Mercenarias. Far from being novelty album, O Comeco Do Fim Do Mundo is actually a pretty amazing document from one of the nearly forgotten chapters of punk.
MPEG Stream: "Me Perco"
MPEG Stream: "Inimigo"
MPEG Stream: "Loucos Sentimentos"

AS MERCENARIAS O Comeco Do Fim Do Mundo (The Beginning Of The End Of The World): Brasilian Post-Punk 1982-88 (Soul Jazz) lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As Mercenarias were one of the highlights of the Soul Jazz compilation The Sexual Life Of The Savages, which alongside the superior Nao Wave compilation introduced us to the Brazilian post-punk scene of the '80s. Like plenty of their contemporaries around the globe, this all-women quartet wore their influences on their sleeves, especially early Gang of Four, Nina Hagen, The Dead Kennedies, and Liliput. Not surprisingly, As Mercenarias dabble throughout the broad spectrum of what punk could mean, one track exploding as a taut pogo punk anthem then the next might be a sinewy art-rock tune sounding like a less dubby Slits track with a hell of a lot more fury behind the spidery guitar work and serpentine basslines. Where Soul Jazz sort of dropped the ball on The Sexual Life Of The Savages comp was choosing to include some of late '80s tracks drenched in studio production slickness, but they the mark in uncovering the spittle and contempt of As Mercenarias. Far from being novelty album, O Comeco Do Fim Do Mundo is actually a pretty amazing document from one of the nearly forgotten chapters of punk.
MPEG Stream: "Me Perco"
MPEG Stream: "Inimigo"
MPEG Stream: "Loucos Sentimentos"

ASA-CHANG & JUNRAY Jun Ray Song Chang (Leaf) cd 15.98
Don't know much about this record. But boy we sure do like it. And part of the reason is it is so indescribable. Seriously. Rarely is a record free enough from referents that we are forced to describe the sound alone instead of comparing it to this person and that band. Which while daunting, is also incredibly exciting. It even inspired a spirited discussion with my lady friend (who also loved this record) on how to explain/describe just what the hell is going on here musically. Asa-Chang is a self-taught tabla/bongo guru and in-demand session percussionist and this is his first proper solo record. And it's not at all the record you might expect from a famous tabla player. The tabla, and percussion in general is used quite sparingly, usually strangely entagled with processed vocals, creating fucked up rhythms and otherworldly harmonies. The first track features lots of mournful strings, soaring and swelling with staccato tabla perfectly in sync with spoken male and female vocals. Strangely hypnotic and totally alien sounding. The next track is sort of calypso, with horns and steel drums pecking out a lo-fi, murky melody, sounding a bit like Indian street musicians jamming with some Elephant 6 band. And it continues, careening wildly (stylistically) all over the place, but somehow remains totally cohesive and utterly compelling. They even do a cover of Brigitte Fontaine & Art Ensemble's "Comme A La Radio"! With harmonica and sitars and electronics and crazy tablas triggering whispery Japanese vocals over lovely strings. Unlikely sounds and deliberately angular melodies, super affected vocals ranging from robotic sped up female voices to distorted, pitched down male voices, often harmonising (sort of), occasional almost-indie rock riffs plucked out on an acoustic guitar, bells and chimes, shimmering drones, electronic bleeps and blips, and amazing percussion all gel perfectly into one of the weirdest coolest records we've heard in a long time.
MPEG Stream: "Nana"
MPEG Stream: "Nigatsu"
MPEG Stream: "Kobana"

ASA-CHANG & JUNRAY Tsu Gi Ne Pu (Leaf) cd 12.98

ASAHARA, MASAYO Saint Agnes Fountain (Audiolaceration) cd 16.98
The back-story on this is a good one, so let's start with that: We heard about this from a friend of ours (who shall remain nameless). So Loren came in and asked us one day if we could get an obscure album by some '70s Japanese experimental composer named Masayo Asahara. Apparently it was recently reissued on cd by a label in England... and was said to sound like Terry Riley meets Magma meets Soft Machine or something! Well THAT sure sounded interesting. So we looked it up online. Sure enough, Masayo Asahara's rare 1974 LP Saint Agnes Fountain was now available on cd. Here's what the label's website had to say about it: "A forgotten drone-prog-jazz classic from the 1970s Japanese underground...St Agnes Fountain was composed while Masayo Asahara was completing her masters degree at the University of Osaka in 1974. Asahara's doctorate concerned the music of the early American minimalists, especially LaMonte Young and Tony Conrad, and her composition reflects her involvement not only in that music, but also with the thriving Osaka free jazz scene from whose ranks this one-off band was put together specifically for this recording. Asahara also cites Faust, Soft Machine, and the Rolling Stones as influencing her work during this period. The rather curious title and artwork come via Asahara's parallel studies of mediaeval European history and pagan imagery in Protestant hymnal writing." Wow! We had to order that! Wish we could hear if first though...hmm...maybe there's a sound sample here...click here for more info it says...ok...wait, what's this?! We read: "St Agnes Fountain was composed by Martin Archer and UTT/Foster, and was recorded at Yellowarch Studio, Sheffield during 2002. This music is different from Martin's core music, and we have created Masayo in the hope of bringing a different audience into our music journey." Huh?! Turns out the whole thing is a cruel hoax! Albeit not a very deceptive one, if you did a little research. But hadn't our friend said that he'd heard of this supposed composer Masayo Asahara before? He had -- when he visited experimental/jazz musician Martin Archer in England! So, there's no such person as Masayo Asahara at all, she's merely the alter-ego Martin Archer. Apparently he only wanted to fool some of the people some of the time, in aid of making a fantasy LP come true. So, disappointed but still intrigued, we got Martin to send us a copy, thinking, it had better be good! And...it IS good! Really good. Dunno if we would have been fooled had he not revealed the truth, it certainly sounds inspired by all the stuff cited above, though the recording itself is perhaps not authentically '70s-sounding. And what we really think this sound like, is Gas gone prog. The disc begins with the track "Begin" -- twelve minutes of heavily filtered electric organ chording, endlessly building, eventually morphing into the 17+ minute "Continue"! Further into the disc, new themes and instrumentation are introduced, but the basic hypnotic concept progagates. It's a very satisfying trip, the kind of thing that you don't really realize is playing for as long as it is. It really sounds like the pulsing electronics of Wolfgang Voigt's Gas project combined with the minimalist jazz-drone of Australia's The Necks (two big AQ faves you'll note), with some detours into psych-fusion freakouts, via Hammond organ and what Martin Archer and his co-conspirators consider their tribute to "Magma's horn section". If this really WAS a long-lost Japanese LP from '74 we'd be losing our minds over it...so why not anyway? Martin Archer's fantasy has resulted in a quite fantastic musical reality on this here disc.
MPEG Stream: "Begin"
MPEG Stream: "Second Tempo"
MPEG Stream: "Third Tempo Plus Organ Solo"

ASANO, KOJI A Second Dam (Solstice) cd 14.98
Wow, what with a new Koji Asano release coming out every month (literally!) it's a bit hard for us to always come up with something original to say. If you search for "Asano" on our website you'll find a ton of reviews of his past releases, many of them AQ-faves, which should give you a fairly good picture of this eclectic experimentalist and his works. Briefly though, Asano is a young Japanese sound-artist who puts very few limits on his creativity -- or the frequency of his output. In general, he miraculously manages to do pretty well on both sides of the quality/quantity equation! This new title, though, might really be one for hardcore Koji Asano fans only, as it consists of over an hour of varying tones of the sort discomforting to both dog and man alike. Did I say "frequency of his output"? Yep, no limits there: this is a painful program of high pitched whines that perhaps can be considered Asano's tribute to Iannis Xenakis' equally earhole abusing "La Legend d'Eer". Brutal, but if you're tough enough you'll find the beauty in it.
RealAudio clip: "A Second Dam (excerpt)"

ASANO, KOJI A Secret Path Of Rain (Solstice) cd 14.98
Two 20+ minute tracks of solo computer noise music from the prolific 26 year-old Japanese composer Koji Asano (now based in Barcelona). Although a computer is involved, this ain't glitchy laptop techno! This material isn't that far removed from the electroacoustic drone/static of his excellent previous album "Momentum". Lovely cover photo by Asano as usual, not indicative of the difficult sounds inside.
Asano says: "At this stage, powerful but sensitive music constructed by strong high frequencies and the space. Sometimes sounds are like small steps of insects or huge movements of the ground."

ASANO, KOJI Absurd Summer (Solstice) cd 13.98

ASANO, KOJI Autumn Meadow (Solstice) cd 14.98
By now most readers of the AQ New Arrivals list should be familiar with the work of Koji Asano, the uber-prolific Barcelona-based Japanese experimental composer who has long been a big favorite here at Aquarius. We didn't have to wait long for this, the 21st-or-so release by Koji on his own label Solstice, and it's another of his more abstract/ambient electro-acoustic pieces (his varied ouevre also includes guitar improv, piano meditations, computer noise, chamber music, etc.). "Autumn Meadow" is a long (68 minute) single track of whistling, droning feedback-derived (?) hiss. We're not entirely joking when we say it kinda sounds like Koji recorded and processed the sounds made by his hot water radiator -- though it quickly grows louder and scarier than that -- maybe a poltergeist-possessed radiator? But whatever the source, appreciators of lengthy, creepy, distorted drone-works will find this to be a satisfying listen.
RealAudio clip: "Autumn Meadow (excerpt)"

ASANO, KOJI Avalanches (Solstice) cd 14.98
"Even Jim O'Rourke would be left gasping at the depth and range of his output"--that's what the Wire magazine says about 25-year old Tokyo composer/multi-instrumentalist Koji Asano, and here are three new cds to prove it. Sunshine and Avalanches both explore noisy electronic realms with extreme frequencies both high and low, and some strange analog rhythmic 'beats' in places. Monsoon, meanwhile, is quite different: a truly gorgeous piano-improv session, very good falling-asleep at night trance music. We also have the rest of the very prolific Asano's hard-to-find back catalog in stock, including his insane guitar/drums/keyboards trio record Gravity which somehow combines metal, surf music, and improv skree. Other highlights are "Solstice" (electronics/noise/ping pong game sounds...), "You Can't Open The Door Because It's Already Open" (beautiful, far-away sounding piano bliss), "Pheromone" (guitar/noise/weirdness), "Vacant Land" (crinkly noise soundscapes), "Caffeine" (another guitar-oriented fave, some really beautiful stuff on here)...and a couple other fine discs. Check out his website for more details.

ASANO, KOJI Caffeine (Solstice) cd 14.98
Koji's second album, with a different cover from its original release on his pre-Solstice label RAB. Lots of his rarely-heard these days avant-guitar playing on this one.

ASANO, KOJI Celeste (Solstice) cd 14.98
Piano on this early one.

ASANO, KOJI Crevasses (Solstice) cd 14.98
Disc number 25 (!) from one of our favorite Japanese experimental composers, the ever prolific Koji Asano. With his album-a-month schedule, we've been worried about quality control, but he rarely disappoints, although it's been tough for us to keep up -- we're still digesting his lovely four volume "The Last Shade of Evening Falls" drone-work. But for those of you ready for another dose of Koji, here's "Crevasses", a disc on which Koji generates (using a computer? we're not sure) over seventy minutes of intense, subtly-shifting, multi-tracked, various-pitched drone. It's not 'Japanese noise' in its harshest sense, but it's not about beats and melodies either. Rather, you get abstract bell-like electronics, buried bass burbling, extended sonar bleeps and strangely soothing siren sounds. Students of such 'dronology' should investigate! "Crevasses" is never *too* shrill, but there is more treble than bass in this example of alien, not-so-ambient electronics. As the disc develops, it gets dirtier and denser, and the 'buzz' factor builds until it's eventually like you've stuck your head into some sort of spaceship slash wasp's nest. After 73 minutes, you'd think you'd be ready for some silence, but the album's abrupt end just leaves you wanting more.

ASANO, KOJI Final Insurance: Collection Vol. 2, 1992-1994 (Solstice) cd 14.98
Back in stock! Koji's thirty eighth career disc, Final Insurance, isn't actually a brand new recording, it is (as the full title suggests) a collection of previously unreleased tracks from the period directly prior the release of Asano's first actual album, Solstice, in 1995. Wow, that was a while ago now, but I remember when we first got that disc -- who would have guessed that ten years later we'd have reviewed dozens more cds by him? There's twelve tracks here, varied in approach from squeaky, sci-fi electronic noise (a la Ryoji Ikeda) to gentle field recordings (kinda like something Toshiya Tsunoda might do). There's improvs on guitar and piano as well... everything here is interesting, some of it harsh, some of it beautiful. He carefully selected these tracks from a vast amount of material recorded in this youthful period of sonic activity and discovery, and it's all good stuff that deserves to be heard!
MPEG Stream: "Lettuce No. 2"
MPEG Stream: "Humidity"

ASANO, KOJI Flow-Augment (Solstice) cd 14.98
Japanese experimental music wunderkind Koji Asano has already produced a slew of fine albums that range in focus from guitar noise-rock to meditative piano improvisation to electronic soundscapes... Now, with this release, he ventures into the realm of modern classical, with three long tracks of melancholy and unsettling yet not-unmelodic music for strings, performed by the Koji Asano Ensemble (piano, cello, viola, violin, and contrabass). Koji Asano is perhaps Japan's answer to the United States' own prolific and multitalented new music prodigy Jim O'Rourke (and Asano has yet to release any dubious "pop" music). Recommended.

ASANO, KOJI Fret (Solstice) cd 14.98
Another eclectic early recording from our fave Japanese composer living in Spain.

ASANO, KOJI Gondola Odyssey (Solstice) cd 14.98

ASANO, KOJI Gravity (Solstice) cd 14.98
One of Koji's first releases, with his group Gravity: an instrumental, guitar-keys-drums avant-rock band! Hard to describe, improv-meets-surf-meets-metal-meets-prog music, quite different from much of his vast catalog, but nonetheless one of Allan's faves.