MERCERON, MARIANO Y SUS MUCHACHOS PIMIENTA Yo Tengo Un Tumbao (Tumbao) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MEV & AMM Apogee (Matchless) 2cd 39.00
Apogee marks the first collaboration betweeen the veteran avant-garde improvisers Musica Elettronica Viva (Alvin Curran, Frederic Rzewski, and Richard Teitelbaum) and AMM (Keith Rowe, Eddie Prevost, and John Tilbury). Their collavorative set was recorded during one live session in April, 2004; and as one might imagine from their previous outings, these six men locate the immediacy of sound with various degrees of drama, inactivity, noise, and silence. There's squiggles from Keith Rowe's radio interferring with his guitar pick-ups, wooden thumps from the piano strings being tapped by hand, monopulse bleeps from digital clocks, the glistening drones from bowed cymbals, indeterminant metallic scrapings, and synthesized electronic bursts of scrambled noise. The studied clusters of notes from piano, horns, and strings that dot the Apogee sessions provide the trappings that these six are performing in a particular academic tradition of improvisation, and are the only the things that hamstring their monumentally post-modernist expressionism. Along with the three lengthy improvisations between all six improvisers, AMM and MEV both offer extended 30 minute recordings from live performances to round out this double disc set.
MPEG Stream: MEV & AMM "Apogee Part 1"
MPEG Stream: AMM "AMM - 01.05.04"
MPEG Stream: MEV "MEV - 01.05.04"

MIGHTY SPARROW Sparrowmania! (Strut) 2cd 19.98

MIGHTY SPARROW Sparrowmania! (Strut) 2lp 27.00

MIGHTY SPARROW, THE Hot + Sweet (BRG Records) cd 12.98
Born Slinger Francisco in Grenada in 1935, The Mighty Sparrow earned himself the title "calypso king of the world" in the 50's through his superior song writing, beautiful voice and -- most importantly -- his lyrical genious: scathing tomes wrapped in double entendre that hit you like ground glass in your daiquiri. This album, luxuriously produced by Beach Boys co-conspirator Van Dyke Parks in 1972, is blanketed with wonderful horn arrangements with harmonies of a much abused jazz origin, which highlight the Mighty Sparrow's gorgeous melody lines.
MPEG Stream: "English Diplomacy"
MPEG Stream: "Memories"

MILLIS, ROBERT Leaf Music Drunks Distant Drums: Recordings From Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (Anomalous) cd 14.98
It seems like field recordings from southeast Asia have become one of the most popular emergent genres here at Aquarius Records. And while we're not sure if just 'cause you took a trip and recorded stuff you should really get your name on record (like you're some sort of hoity-toity 'sound artist'), we still appreciate the efforts of such recordists as Loren Nerell, the Bishop brothers, and now Robert Millis. The truth is, ambient sound from some street in Thailand or Indonesia can be a lot more fascinating than yet another disc of computerized feedback or lowercase glitch! Never a substitute for going places yourself and using your ears (and other senses) but certainly a valid listening option at home. So no complaints, we'll continue to sing the praises of quality releases in the 'field recordings' genre like those on the Sublime Frequencies label. And certainly if you liked the recent Princess Nicotine disc on Sublime Freq, you'll probably also want to check out Leaf Music Drunks Distant Drums. Actually Millis (a member of American experimentalists Climax Golden Twins) had some involvement in the production of the Sublime Frequencies' dvd release Nat Pwe: Burma's Carnival Of Spirit Soul, and portions of this release were recorded on the same 'expedition'. Listening to this artfully edited distillation of the hours and hours of recordings that this disc represents, you'll be able to tell that Millis obviously spent a lot of time on the ground in SE Asia, ears alert for interesting sonics (musical and otherwise). It'll transport you into an environment that includes the following and more: "improvisation performed by an elephant mahout using only a leaf, ethereal temple orchestras, blind street musicians, insect choruses, stagecoach rides, singing cabbies, drunken spirit orchestras performing Leo Sayer songs..." Byram was especially taken with the track that sounds like a guy sobbing through a bullhorn! A great listen thats very well mixed, segueing nicely, and at a nice pace, from track to track.
MPEG Stream: "Blue Jeans Salesman, Thailand / Morning Sermon, Cambodia"
MPEG Stream: "Blind Street Singer, Thailand"
MPEG Stream: "Distant Drums, Cambodia"

MILLIS, ROBERT This World Is Unreal Like A Snake In A Rope (Sublime Frequencies) dvd 21.00
Our favorite "world music" label has gotta be Sublime Frequencies, their dedicated operatives backpacking through the far reaches of the non-Western world, documenting so much amazing music and sound. While SF mostly does limited edition vinyl and cds, they also do dvd releases too, adding equally 'exotic' visuals to the mix.
Here's one such dvd, a film by Robert Millis of the Climax Golden Twins, whom you probably know also as a prolific field recordist and collector of 78s. Here he shares the sound and imagery from a journey he took, from Mumbai to Madurai and back.
"Filmed live and in the moment in South India" this is a narrative-free exploration of the wonders (to us) of what must be rather mundane (to them, there). It's fascinating, odd, dreamlike, colorful, with much beauty, and moments of humor. The film is full of woozy close-ups and cross-fades of peeling murals painted on pockmarked walls. Religious processions. Traffic-clogged streets. Beach amusements. Strange scenes on flickering TV screens. Temple performances. Laundry being done. Street musicians. Cows, elephants! It's all reality, yet unreal, a bit hallucinatory. Helped along by (of course) the evocative field recordings and Bollywood samplings that serve as the soundtrack.
One of the most mind blowing bits, for us at least, was the visit to the Experimental Instrument Museum in Chennai, revealing such treasures as the "revolving tambura". Wow. Makes Lark In The Morning seem pretty lame. Want. To. Go. There.
55 minutes, indexed into chapters accessible from the menu screen. Also includes an equally compelling photo gallery slideshow section.

MIN XIAO-FEN Spring, River, Flower, Moon, Night (Asphodel) cd 12.98
Traditional Chinese music played on the pipa by virtuoso Xiao-Fen, nicely recorded by AQ-customer Carl Stone. Intricate, beautiful, even DJ Spooky couldn't improve upon this.

MINIERE, JEROME La Nuit (Lithium) 2cd 15.98
Beautiful and lush, late-night electro-pop / hip hop. Dark mumbled, whispery vocals, looped minor key piano, shuffling jazzy drums, stuttering samples. Like a mix of Massive Attack, MC Solaar and the occasional touch of Magnetic Fields. Nice.
RealAudio clip: "Merveilleux Comme Ca"

MODERN SOUND QUARTET Otinku (EM Records) cd 21.00
What's the latest obsession of our friends at Japan's weirdest, most wonderful reissues label, EM Records? Last summer, they brought us a special series of sixties surf music soundtracks, and we can thank EM for the essential selection of "singing saw" recordings stocked at Aquarius... as well as much else in the vein of incredibly strange or at least unusual music. Now, EM is excited about...the steel drums! Or, as EM more correctly calls 'em, steel pans. Now, steel pans, to us, aren't quite as thrilling as musical saws, though we'll admit that it's cool that these tuned percussion instruments are made from cast-off 55 gallon oil drums. They've got an interesting history and all, but steel pan and calypso music isn't really our thing... overexposure to the touristy, cheesy use of the instrument doesn't help. What's next, EM celebrates the pan flute? But, at least on the two steel pan oriented albums that EM has recently rescued and reissued, the steel pan sound is pretty sweet, and totally jazzed up. Afro-Caribbean jazz-funk laced with the percussive melodic chiming sound of the steel pan is what you'll hear on this album by the Modern Sound Quintet, recorded in Stockholm, Sweden (of all places) in 1971. But the band wasn't Swedish -- leader Rudy Smith came from Trinidad, birthplace of the steel pan, and the other musicians in the group hailed from Trinidad, Ghana, Barbados, and Surinam. Smith was the pannist in the group, which also featured drum kit, congas, bass and piano. They cook up some funky originals as well as putting their own unique steel pan spin on such standards as Milt Jackson's "Bag's Groove", Joe Zawinul's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", and Herbie Mann's "Memphis Underground". Perhaps in this context the steel pan does sound a bit like that more ordinary jazz instrument, the vibes, but of course with more of a tropical island flavor. No doubt there's some grooves here that some crate-digging DJ's would be happy to have unearthed on vinyl, now they'll know to look for this. And while we won't pretend this is the most amazing thing EM has ever released, it's kinda neat if you are at all into obscure jazz-funk exotica. Pretty charming really. This is the one to get, and if you love it then check out EM's other related steel pan release, a reissue of 1984's Still Around by the Rudy Smith Quartet.
Oh and of course this boasts EM's usual deluxe gatefold sleeve packaging job, with informative, illustrated liner notes in both Japanese and English.
MPEG Stream: "Otinku"
MPEG Stream: "Flower In The Rain"

MODULO 1000 Nao Fale Com Paredes (World In Sound) cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
All right! It's about time this legendary slice of South American psych got a not-inordinately-expensive cd reissue we could stock. We've been into this band/album ever since a REALLY expensive but beautiful (and now long-gone) vinyl reissue came out on Shadoks some years ago. Now World In Sound makes it available on cd in a fancy thick triple-fold sleeve that preserves the great psychedelic gatefold art from the original LP -- art that Acid Mothers Temple would die for! There's a 14-page booklet with notes and photos as well. This is definitely one for all you '70s heavy psych freaks! Super fuzz wah guitar and organ jamming stoner psych-prog from Brazil, circa 1970. Nine tracks packed with sinewy jams, trippy fx, weighty grooves... definitely appealing to the same head-space as contemporaries like Iron Butterfly, Dug Dug's, Captain Beyond, Speed Glue & Shinki, Hendrix, Flower Travellin' Band, etc. And we're pretty certain that current South American stoner rock faves Los Natas must be into this album too... Also, you may in fact have heard one track from this before, on the ever-recommended Love, Peace & Poetry: Latin American Psychedelic Music comp also on Shadoks, but that track only hints at how cool this album is. (They also have a track on the LP&P Brazilian volume too.)
Here's a quote from one of the band members, the organist, that ought to give some flavor of what they were all about: "The music of Modulo 1000 had its own appeal to an audience that wanted a heavy, raw, experimental, psychedelic sound. Our kind of music did not make it to the radio stations. It was too wild. The distribution of the record was done in a very limited way. The record label directors, which probably didn't understand or even didn't like our music, did zero promotion for the LP." Thus, one darn heavy, weird, and utterly rare record!
This reish also includes seven bonus tracks (from where/when is left unexplained) some of which are freaky enough to fit with the actual record itelf, but just aren't as heavy -- more Latin groovy.
MPEG Stream: "Nao Fale Com Paredes"
MPEG Stream: "Salve-Se Quem Pudea"

MODULO 1000 Nao Fale Com Paredes (Cherry Red Phonograph) lp 28.00
All right! The cd reissue of this legendary slice of South American psych has been out of print for some time, and while it's also been reissued on vinyl before, that was long ago and much more expensive, so we're happy to have this back, reissued once again on wax.
This is definitely one for all you '70s heavy psych freaks! Super fuzz wah guitar and organ jamming stoner psych-prog from Brazil, circa 1970. Nine tracks packed with sinewy jams, trippy fx, weighty grooves... definitely appealing to the same head-space as contemporaries like Iron Butterfly, Dug Dug's, Captain Beyond, Speed Glue & Shinki, Hendrix, Flower Travellin' Band, etc. And we're pretty certain that current South American stoner rock faves Los Natas must be into this album too... Also, you may in fact have heard one track from this before, on Shadok's ever-recommended Love, Peace & Poetry: Latin American Psychedelic Music comp, but that track only hints at how cool this album is. (They also have a track on the LP&P Brazilian volume too.)
Here's a quote from one of the band members, the organist, that ought to give some flavor of what they were all about: "The music of Modulo 1000 had its own appeal to an audience that wanted a heavy, raw, experimental, psychedelic sound. Our kind of music did not make it to the radio stations. It was too wild. The distribution of the record was done in a very limited way. The record label directors, which probably didn't understand or even didn't like our music, did zero promotion for the LP." Thus, one darn heavy, weird, and utterly rare record!
MPEG Stream: "Nao Fale Com Paredes"
MPEG Stream: "Salve-Se Quem Pudea"

MOGOL, LES (MOGOLLAR) Danses et Rythmes de la Turquie (World Psychedelia Ltd.) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Like we said in the 3 Hur-el review, above, the Middle Eastern '60s/'70s psychedelic rock scene is quite a happenin' phenomenon here at Aquarius -- bands from Istanbul blending the "heavy" beat sounds of London, L.A. and San Francisco with their own ethnic musical traditions. So, along with that great 3 Hur-el disc, we're *really* pleased to have just gotten cd copies in stock of a 1971 album by the fantastic Mogollar (or Les Mogol as they were known in France, where this LP was first released). This band has been a super favorite of ours ever since we first heard 'em on the "Love Peace & Poetry: Asian Psychedelia", "Turkish Delights", and "Hava Narghile" compilations. Yep, they appeared on all three of those fab comps, deservedly so as they were not only one of Turkey's biggest pop bands of the time but also one of the best, near as we can tell. They formed in 1967, playing a style of experimental psychedelic rock based on the folk music of the Anatolian region of Turkey. Their unique Anatolian (or Anadolu) "pop" sound is simply a delight, as amply demonstrated by this particular album. It features 13 tracks (none of 'em to be found on the aforementioned comps) that are based on traditional songs -- but for sure the original versions didn't sound like this, so groovy and hip. They employ some standard sixties rock instrumention -- plenty of electric organ getting almost "In-a-gadda-da-vida"-ish at times -- but also really bring the traditional Turkish instruments to the fore, playing ikligs and baglamas and darbukas and kasiks...all kinds of stringed and percussion instruments, often used traditionally but more often just fiercely strummed to great rock 'n' roll heights. Compared to 3 Hur-el's "Hurel Arsivi" this almost-all-instrumental album is folkier *and* jazzier, the electric organ giving some tracks a kind of Martin Denny exotica vibe. Both discs, though, would make great party records. Highly recommended!!
(Windy's new favorite record -- thus proving once again that in her personal canon of favorite all time records, about 90% of them are from 1971-74. And she's delighted to find that the track "Wildflower" was liberally sampled by none other than AQ-fave Amon Tobin for his stellar "Verbal" song... thus proving once again what great taste Tobin has, we says.)
MPEG Stream: "Madimak"
MPEG Stream: "Fairy Chimneys"
MPEG Stream: "Wild Flower"

MOGOLLAR s/t (World Psychedelia Ltd) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Anadolu Pop, yeah! It's no secret that for the Aquarius staff and quite a few of our customers, the rock 'n' folk of hippie-era Turkey holds a BIG attraction. We're way into all the comps and reissues that have come out in recent years documenting how back in the late '60s and early '70s Turkish youth took the Western beat and psychedelic sounds that were current at the time and melded them to traditional Turkish folk forms, with fuzz guitars and ethnic instrumentation like saz and iklig combined into an energetic, 'exotic' and exceedingly infectious hybrid pop music. And perhaps the best example of this Middle Eastern psych-rock is the band Mogollar (aka Les Mogol). We've already freaked out about the one cd of their stuff we've previously been able to stock, the Danses et Rythmes de la Turquie album from 1971. Now, the same Korean reissue label brings us another, their rare self-titled second album (also it seems from '71), and it's just as good! The first track you might recognize from the Asian installment of the Love, Peace, & Poetry series. And one of the bonus tracks is on Hava Narghile compilation, while two are amped-up versions of songs from Danses et Rhythmes. Yep, there's eight utterly kick ass bonus tracks, all from 1970 or '71 singles releases, that are a bit more rocked (and tripped) out than the somewhat folkier instrumentals on the album proper. You can hear more of an Iron Butterfly influence on a few of these...and Byram hears hints of the Beefheart rhythm section circa Mirror Man on "Behind The Dark", one of the couple English-language tracks here. Awesome, essential. As is the whole album. Languid grooves, frenzied fretting, such great atmosphere, just wonderful stuff. The cd booklet includes photos and an informative English-language essay detailing the history of the band, which is great to have (even if it doesn't tell us in what year this was released). Definitely add this to your Turkish psych-pop collection, or start one with this!!
MPEG Stream: "Hicaz Mandira"
MPEG Stream: "Karsiki Yayla"
MPEG Stream: "Behind The Dark"

MOHAMMED, MOHAMMED 'JIMMY' Hulgizey - In Concert (Terp) cd 17.98
We joked in some past reviews that Dutch experimental world music label Terp must be paying our salaries considering how much love we give their releases, but c'mon, you've heard them! You've bought them! LOTS of them! And like us you've played them all to death. Every single one is amazing, so exciting musically, so emotionally resonant, some of the most unique and moving music we've EVER heard. And as if to drive the point home, we have not one, but TWO new releases from Terp on this week's list, one, a live disc from legendary Ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria, jamming with The Ex and friends, and this, a sadly posthumous live release from blind Ethiopian vocalist Mohammed 'Jimmy' Mohammed.
We raved about Mohammed's other release on Terp, the completely mind blowing Takkabel! And as we mentioned before, his life story is just as dramatic and intense and emotional as his music. He became blind as a child, an apparent curse after his parents had him baptized against the warnings of a local fortune teller (God wanted him to be Muslim), spent years homeless on the streets, eventually rescued and cared for, enrolled in a school for the blind, where money was raised to help restore his sight, but the money was stolen, and his eyesight never restored, eventually becoming a nightclub singer renowned for his interpretations of songs by legendary vocalist Tlahoun Gessesse (who you probably remember from several volumes of the Ethiopiques series).
But whereas much of Takkabel! was tangled and angular and complex, recalling Aavikko weirdly enough, with guest drumming from improv legend Han Bennink, this live disc is much more laid back and dark, a very personal sounding and intimate recording, the band spreading out a lush tapestry of sound over which Mohammed weaves his magical moods. His voice is divine and as powerful as it is subtle, distincitive and expressive, soaring and dancing nimbly across impossible melodies, the interplay between the vocals and the instruments is divine. The guitar like krar unfurling simple melodic fragments, the percussion simple and propulsive, a simple spare framework for Mohammed to explore as he sees fit, his vocals wild and acrobatic, intense and passionate, so mysterious sounding, but also utterly warm and inviting.
The last two lengthy tracks are the most reminiscent of Takkabel!, with the addition of sax, the rhythms a bit more off kilter and danceable, the whole sound a bit more funky and groovy, VERY Ethiopiques sounding. Hard to imagine the crowd in attendance not dancing wildly in the aisles...
The proceeds from sales of this cd will go toward a just-founded Jimmy Fund, created to care for his wife and his children, one of whom was born right after his death.
MPEG Stream: "Sethed Seketelat"
MPEG Stream: "Mela Mela"
MPEG Stream: "Eywat Setenategagn"

MOHAMMED, MOHAMMED 'JIMMY' Takkabel! (Terp) cd 17.98
It must seem like we're on the Terp payroll or something by now, this being the second record they've put out that's received record of the week honors here at aQ. And the fourth or fifth that we've raved about. And to be totally honest, the Terp releases that ended up -not- being records of the week, could very well have under different circumstances, as they are equally as amazing. What can we say, everything Terp has put out so far has totally and completely blown us away! The live Konono record, the gorgeous Lanaya record and this newest release from blind Ethiopian vocalist Mohammed 'Jimmy' Mohammed. His story is just as amazing as his voice and the music he makes. After becoming blind as a child, supposedly as a curse for his parents' decision to ignore the warnings of a fortune teller and baptize him, as God had willed him to be a Muslim, Mohammed ran away and spent several years on the streets, homeless, begging for food, finding solace in the songs of legendary vocalist Tlahoun Gessesse (immortalized in several volumes of the amazing Ethiopiques series) who not only sang beautifully, but whose songs addressed the plight of the poor and suffering. Mohammed was eventually discovered and cared for, enrolled in a school for the blind and raised by a kind hearted surrogate father. After money was raised to help restore his sight, he was heartbroken to discover the funds were stolen and his eyesight was never to be restored. Mohammed spent a brief stint in the national theater before becoming a nightclub singer, where he became more and more popular. Mohammed mostly sings Tlahoun Gessesse's pop songs from the '60s / '70s, being as those are the songs that most affected him throughout his life, but it's his voice and the unique arrangements that make him so special.
He appeared briefly on Ethiopiques 2 but this is his first proper full length. The first track here is a mindblower. The music is so squiggly and complex, so dense and tangled, angular but so lovely, our first thought was that it sort of sounded sort of like the maniacal casio exotica of Aavikko. Part of it might be the fact that Mohammed's band is augmented on that track by legendary European free jazz drummer Han Bennink, and Massimo Pupillo from Italian drone jazz combo Zu. SO amazing. There are plenty of immediately recognizable melodies and distinctly Ethiopian elements, but the way it is played is so strange and lovely. But it's Jimmy's vocals, high and clear, swooping into an impossible falsetto and back again, warm and rich and so gorgeous, that makes this so magical. Bennink drums on a handful of the other tracks as well (he apparently told Jimmy that the reason they clicked so perfectly was because, he said "I'm blind as well when I play with them") but even when it's just Jimmy and his band, the sound is still totally unique and so very special. Little delicate curlicues of electric krar (5 string harp), shuffling skittery drumming, smooth slithery riffs, warm smooth sax from Ethiopian legend Getatchew Mekurya, all weaving a rich intricate tangle of classic Ethiopian melody and irresistibly groovy rhythms, above which Jimmy just soars, so totally emotional and intense, so passionate and absolutely breathtaking.
MPEG Stream: "Aykedashem Lebe"
MPEG Stream: "Sethed Seketelat"

MOLINA, JUANA Segundo (Domino) cd 17.98

MOLINA, JUANA Son (Domino) cd 15.98
Juana Molina hails from Argentina where she was once a sitcom television star until she gave it up to pursue music. And we're so happy she did 'cause over the last few years she's made some really beautiful records. With a remarkable seductive voice and sparse interesting instrumentation beneath, she creates a sultry and inciting mood that totally wraps you up in its womblike warmth. With a voice that has the same melting beauty as sonic seductresses like Astrud Gilberto, what's so great about Molina is that while her voice is breathtaking, there is so much more to her music. Evoking much emotion but never hitting the listener over the head with overly maudlin sentiments or romantic drivel. Subtly experimenting with delicate sounds and electronics yet keeping songs strong and in tact. Creating a sound that is both very modern and totally timeless. It would be so easy for someone with a voice as beautiful as Molina's to just push her vocals way out in front of the mix and make polished straightforward pop records, but luckily she chooses to create interesting and textured songs using her voice as another element, no more important that some swoonsome guitar or shuffling rhythm. Another fantastic album. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Malherido"
MPEG Stream: "La Verdad"

MOLINA, JUANA Un Dia (Domino) cd 15.98
It would be so easy and profitable for Juana Molina to simply streamline her sound, to make things nice and easy and to compete with the likes of Feist and Beth Orton for permanent cafe stereo time, but lucky for us, she keeps pushing and challenging herself, creating original and challenging music while still managing to weave a sensual and seductive spell with her sounds.
Her voice is the main instrument, and it's her voice that carries Un Dia, with its seamless mix of organic instrumentation and subtle electronics. It's hard to believe that someone this creative and musically talented was once a bigtime sitcom TV star in Argentina. Makes so much sense how committed she seems to her musical vision as she already enjoyed a kind of mindless popular culture celebrity so she doesn't need to pander to commercial blandness with her music. It's not to say that this is difficult or unpleasant music because its not, quite the contrary but similar to folks like Bjork and Brigitte Fontaine decades earlier, Molina belongs to a strong brigade of visionary women who know how to blend experimentation with melody and pop sensibilities for music that is both rewarding and pleasurable. This might be her finest moment yet!
MPEG Stream: "Los Hongos De Marosa"
MPEG Stream: "Vive Solo"
MPEG Stream: "No Lllama"

MONOMONO The Dawn Of Awareness (Sound Way) lp + 12" 26.00

MONTANER, RITA Rita De Cuba (Tumbao) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Born in 1900, Rita Montaner was enrolled in a conservatory of music in Cuba and studied voice and piano at the age of ten and received her diploma at sixteen. By the age of 19 she was giving recitals throughout Cuba, at 22 she was one of the first voices to be heard over Cuban national radio and at 27 flew to New York -- beginning her career as an international artist. But despite her extensive performances abroad and her knowledge of the European classical repertoire, it was to Cuba that she always returned and it was the music of Cuba that she performed the most. On this collection of recordings, mostly made in 1928 & 1929 in Cuba (there are six tracks recorded in 1940 & 1941), Rita sings the songs of her countrymen, including Moises Simons, Ernesto Lecuona, Juan Bruno Tarraza and many others. Her operatic singing style stands out on these recordings and some here even remark that she sounds a bit like Minnie Mouse. On most of the tracks she is accompanied by Orquesta Hermanos Palau, but there are a few duets of Rita with piano on here as well.
RealAudio clip: "El Manisero"
RealAudio clip: "Alla En El Batey"

MORE, BENY El Barbaro del Ritmo (Tumbao) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It has been said that Beny More is one of the greatest Cuban singers, and one of its greatest patriots - one of the few stars of his generation who chose to stay in Cuba rather than emigrate to the U.S. or Mexico - a singer "gifted with an incomparable voice. He was the most all-around of Cuban singers, for he was capable of embroidering, stretching, and repeating the phrases of a song without ever altering his rhythm. He knew, with an instinctive judgement, how to assimilate new harmonic concepts while at the same time remaining true to his roots." This recording is unique in that Beny More is backed up by Perez Prado and his orchestra, a group more commonly associated with instrumental music. Recorded in Mexico City between 1948 and 1950.

MRWEBI, GWIGWI Mbaqanga Songs (Honest Jon's) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An amazing release in this new series from the always kick ass Honest Jon's label. An offshoot of the equally amazing London Is The Place For Me series (which we've yet to review, but we're working on it!), Gwigwi Mrwebi is a sax player from Johannesburg, who moved to London in 1960 to appear in the musical King Kong (!) and who back in South Africa had recorded with Hugh Masekela among other jazz luminaries. We've been listening to this for months and months and are only now finally getting it reviewed and listed!
Mbaqabga Songs is a reissue of an impossible to find lp, and is totally delightful, groovy, jazzy, danceable, playful, rambunctious, a bit boppy, super happy and most certainly sets the toes a tapping. While this definitely has some African elements and will appeal to fans of all things Ethiopiques and Zanzibara, it's much more of a straight jazz record, performed in the Kwela style popular in Africa at the time, a happy, lilting, jazzy bounce with a definite fifties big band vibe (we even hear some rocksteady in there too), the melodies exuberant, the playing smooth and crisp, just so fun with a totally carefree vibe. It's easy to imagine a warm summer evening, the sun setting on an outdoor dancefloor, strung with multi colored lights, Mrwebi and his band playing on late into the night, everyone dancing and drinking and celebrating life. So great!
Beautifully packaged in a 8 panel digipak, packed super extensive liner notes from Steve Beresford.
MPEG Stream: "Good News"
MPEG Stream: "Nyusamkhaya"
MPEG Stream: "Lily Express"

MUHLY, NICO Speaks Volumes (Bedroom Community) cd 15.98
Although young enough to be their son, Nico Muhly seems to have a great grasp of the kind of elegance in chamber music that folks like Steve Reich and Philip Glass have developed over the last several decades. The first release on a new label from Iceland, Muhly's name is no upstart in Icelandic music circles as he helped Bjork on Medulla as well as for her score to Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9. The company Muhly keeps gives pretty good insight into the majestic and moving music that he creates. As well as Bjork, Muhly has also collaborated with Philip Glass on lots of stage and film works, and Antony of Antony & The Johnsons, who appears on the last track here. Muhly has a sensitive songwriting hand which keeps the songs on Speaks Volumes subtle enough to remain riveting but with enough emotional weight to keep us coming back for more. So very nice!
MPEG Stream: "Clear Music"
MPEG Stream: "Pillaging Music"

MUTANTES Live - Barbican Theater, London, 2006 (Luaka Bop) 2cd 21.00
Live document of recent reunion tour. It may not have Rita Lee, but it's awesome nonetheless.

MUTANTES, OS Dois Mil E Nove (including Os Mutantes #1, Os Mutantes #2, & A Divina Comedia) (Lilith) 3lp 66.00
Three of the best, and our favorite, Tropicalia releases EVER, now available on vinyl again, in this super deluxe box set.
Their 1968 debut (self titled Os Mutantes, not to be confused, though it's easy, with their also self titled 2nd album Mutantes) is one of the most important and influential records of the last quarter century. Seriously. Here was a band from Sao Paulo, Brazil creating sounds with so many layers and styles intertwined, dense and dizzying, lush and lilting, elaborately arranged but so simple and catchy, who have gone on to help inspire some of the best and most beloved musical outfits in recent times. Their blending of breezy psychedelia, fuzzy delicious pop, and drops of musique concrete was the perfect infusion of experimental elements into challenging and rewarding pop that STILL sounds so amazingly enchanting, weird and irresistible. We could go on listing forever some of the bands and artists who have been inspired by so much of the Muntantes' spirit, sound and aesthetic: Stereolab, Broadcast, the whole Elephant Six scene, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Tower Recordings, Tater Totz, the list is endless. Today we even just noticed how Sonic Youth totally took the guitar melody of "O Relogio" for their classic "Little Trouble Girl". The scope and breadth of Os Mutantes influence is immeasurable. At one point, Kurt Kobain was desperately trying to convince Os Mutantes to tour with Nirvana! And while best-of collections and a few songs on comps here and there are nice, this is the kind of band whose records need to be heard in their entirety. We can't say it loud enough but just imagine us singing to you in glorious sun dappled Technicolor as we tell you that THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! And not just 'cause it's the one that features perhaps their best-known hits, "Baby" and "Bat Macumba". Heck we could even do without those songs at this point, the rest of this is so great. An absolute all time Aquarius favorite and quite possibly one of the best pop records EVER! You might as well just give in, you absolutely need ALL of their first three albums. Never has there been a more perfectly unique and effortless blend of bossa nova and fuzzed out psych rock as on this trio of perfect discs! In addition to this their absolutely perfect debut, there's also Mutantes (album #2, 1969) with its amazing green alien band photo on the back cover. And of course A Divina Comedia (album #3, 1970) with its slightly proggier sound and striking graveyard scene on the cover. Their "Sgt. Pepper meets Astrud Gilberto mix" holds up brilliantly across all three original Mutantes records. It's the sort of thing where we're kinda envious of anyone who hasn't heard 'em already and now has the chance to buy these for the first time!
MPEG Stream: "A Minha Menina"
MPEG Stream: "O Relogio"
MPEG Stream: "Panis Et Circensis"
MPEG Stream: "Nao Va Se Perder Por Ai"
MPEG Stream: "Caminhante Noturno"
MPEG Stream: "Desculpe, Babe"
MPEG Stream: "Oh! Mulher Infiel"

MUTANTES, OS E Seus Cometas No Pais Do Baurets (Universal) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL! Cool. We've never had this fifth Mutantes platter on vinyl before, but it's just been reissued, and the cd is AWOL, so here's what we said about that version, a few years back:
One more time, welcome to the mixed-up Technicolor tropicalia psych-pop pleasuredome that is the music of Brazil's one and only Os Mutantes! This, their fifth album, from 1972, was their last with original vocalist Rita Lee before the band headed off into way proggier '70sness on later efforts of that decade, and it's one splashy send-off all right. We've said before that Mutantes discs #1 (Os Mutantes) and #2 (Mutantes) are the absolute must-have essentials, with #3 (A Divina Comedia Ou) running a close third... but #4 (Jardim Eletrico), and this fifth one too are also full of great Mutantes moments that fans should certainly hear! (And it should be added that if you dig Yes, tracking down some of those subsequent Mutantes efforts might be worth it as well...)
It should come as no surprise to Mutantes aficionados that as a collection of songs, Mutantes E Seus Cometas No Pais Do Baurets is all over the place, from the McCartneyesque, Moog sizzling "Balada Do Louco" to the groovy, wacked-out prog-funk of the nearly 10-minute long title track. You'll hear peppy '50s rockabilly pastiche ("Posso Perder Minha Mulher, Minha Mae, Desde Que Tenha O Rock And Roll"), Zep-heavy fuzz rockers ("A Hora E A Vez Do Cabelo Nascer"), lovely folkiness ("Vida de Cachorro"), and a honky tonk piano beerhall singalong ("Todo Mundo Pastou II"). And one of Allan's (but not necessarily everybody else here's) favorite tracks has got to be the ultra kitschy, goofy "Dune Buggy"... there's certainly lots of humor and bizarre bits woven in and out of pretty much all these tunes, again as per Mutantes' usual modus operandi (as is the Beatles influence felt throughout). Definitely a fun listen!
MPEG Stream: "A Hora E A Vez Do Cabelo Nascer"
MPEG Stream: "Vida de Cachorro"
MPEG Stream: "Dune Buggy"

MUTANTES, OS The Sixth Finger: Singles, Rarities and Outakes 1965-1968 (Which Label) lp 32.00
There was a time in the mid-to-late nineties where Brazil psych-prog-pop legends, Os Mutantes ruled supreme at AQ. Their first three records came to define one of our store's focus areas in finding cool obscure Latin psychedelia especially from Brazil's Tropicalia scene of the sixties and seventies. While a large part of the band's back-catalog remains temporarily out of print on cd, we did just come across this mind-bending vinyl-only compilation of obscure rarities from the band's early days. The Sixth Finger was originally the intended title of the band's second album, which their record label refused. So it's apropos that this collection shows the band at their most primal, raw and rebellious, even featuring the Shell spots they did for radio adverts of their most experimental tape collages. Most of the music is taken direct from masters of longer alternate versions of some of their most well-known tracks including "Bat Macumba", "Panis Et Circensis" and "Ando Meio Desligado", but it also includes some raw live festival recordings featuring Caetano Veloso. The cover is even taken from one of the cancelled photo sessions for their second album. A really cool collection even though the price may keep unfamiliar but curious folks from taking a listen. Still a worthy addition for Mutantes fans!

MUTANTES, OS Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol (Som Lvre) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An often overlooked title in the Os Mutantes catalog, Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol was recorded in 1974 and released a year later. With only sole original member, Sergio Dias, taking the helm, their sound takes another direction into the pastoral rock / post-Tropicalia territory of bands like O Terco and O Bando. It's a pretty solid album thankfully without a lot of the proggy wackiness that we have seen on much of their later output.

MY CAT IS AN ALIEN Landscapes Of An Electric City (Ecstatic Peace) 2lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This band is much better than their horrible name would imply. My Cat Is An Alien is the delicate avant-rock project of the Italian brothers Maurizio and Roberto Opalio, who have garnered a considerable amount of respect from Sonic Youth. So much so that MCIAA has opened for SY on a number of recent Italian gigs, jammed with Kim Gordon during one of those tours, and got this album released through Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label. The brothers open their album very quietly with quiet Slint / Tarentel guitar chords and lots of silence between the repeated stanzas. Equally spartan blurts of synthetic 8-bit noise emerge in congress with the guitars, eventually doubling up with a time-stretched / down-pitched reflection of itself. All of this very slowly gets smeared into a spiralling pattern of cosmic delay and tape-loop mechanisms. This track (or movement as MCIAA calls it) takes up all of side one, and is worth the prices of admission alone. The rest of the album is a bit of a turn downhill. Side two tumbles through a passage of lo-fi noise, sounding like a hand-cranked cheese grater being amplified with an occasional John Fahey-esque splutter behind it all. This lp had originally been released as a CD-R / demo before it was sent to Thurston Moore. The other LP is a one-sided affair with the band spitting out spastic sort-of-no-wave.
RealAudio clip: "Movement 1"

MY VIOLENT EGO One Day You'll Laugh At The Sad Saga That Was (EP's 2001-2005) (Sometimes Records / White Birch / Handwriting) cd 15.98
BACK IN STOCK! Got more of these from Italy...
Released on the same label that put out the Starfuckers compilation Ordine '91-'96, one of our Records Of The Week this week, this collection of eps from Italian/British shoegaze dreampop duo My Violent Ego couldn't be more far removed from the gnarled experimental noise rock of the Starfuckers. MVE instead traffic in heavily processed, washed out effects drenched shimmer, dreamy abstract pop drift, and hushed ethereal pop ambience. 4AD loosed from its more traditional song like structures, the sounds allowed to float freely, blurred clouds of tangled melody, hushed angelic voices, looped melodic mesmer stretched into dreamy droned out drifts of ephemeral dreampop, many of the tracks here mere fragments, but even in fragmented form, so breathlessly lovely.
We knew the name My Violent Ego was familiar, but we couldn't quite remember why, but then it came to us, they were one of the bands who accused black metallers Velvet Cacoon of plagiarism! Remember those rumors of an unreleased VC demo that supposedly consisted of mostly borrowed/stolen music made by other people? The Velvet Cacoon folks copped to it too, admitting to being a total fraud, but knowing VC, it's hard to tell whether they're ever being genuine or always taking the piss, but finally hearing MVE it's easy to hear why Velvet Cacoon might be tempted, slather on a little black buzz, and this stuff would make the most divine and dreamily druggy black metal bliss, the sounds already warm and fuzzy, woozy and washed out, even a bit witch housey, the arrangements looped and circular, slipping from fully realized jangle pop drift, to blurred and smeared impressionistic shoegaze ambience, often melding the two, into some of the dreamiest dreampop we've heard.
There's definitely an old school Eighties vibe, but the band infuse their jangly drift with enough experimentalism that many of these tracks sound more like something you might hear on Touch or Kompakt than 4AD, taking single riffs, or simple loops, and treating them, dousing them in effects, and stretching them out into hushed expanses of mesmeric shimmer. So so nice. And so so totally recommended.
MPEG Stream: " Plam"
MPEG Stream: "Swoonow"
MPEG Stream: "Sleping Song"
MPEG Stream: "Plom"

MYSTERIOUS THAI RECORD s/t (Mississippi / Exiled) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A while back we reviewed a cd called Siamese Temple Ball. A truly mysterious disc, with very little in the way of liner notes or any information really, but a record that we all became a little obsessed with and thus listened to it NONstop. We sold tons of copies too.
Then recently, we get a new batch of records from the always amazing Mississippi Records, and one of the records is entitled simply Mysterious Thai LP. So of course we're intrigued. We throw it on, and lo and behold, it's the very same record. Siamese Temple Ball, now on vinyl.
Not sure how this happened, if it was random, or if as we posited back in the day, that maybe Siamese Temple Ball was not actually music from Thailand, but an incredibly well played homage by some Sun City Girls-like worshippers of Eastern musical tradition. Hardly matters, the music is fantastic, wild, emotional, dense, joyous and yes, very very mysterious.
The cd version featured a sticker that proclaimed in faux pidgen English: "Flight comes to Thailand in the Year of the Rat. Siamese Temple Ball provide the lilting soundtrack for a chemical journey. Schoolgirls dance bashfully for the expectant throng. Life continues at a comparatively slow pace away from the rigours of fierce sun-light." Which was then followed by the (label's) description: "In the tradition of Sun City Girls, Ya Ho Wha 13, The Spacious Mind, Taj Mahal Travellers, Mu, Word of Life, Group 1850, and Ghost, Siamese Temple Ball give maximum pleasure for thirsty brains."
Quite a roster of comparisons, the most fitting of which is definitely the Sun City Girls. So while we assume that this record was recorded by a group of precocious, dilettante, ethnomusicologist hipsters, we like to suspend our disbelief and imagine this to be a genuine Folkways-style field recording, as the recording certainly has a genuine field recording presence - a single stereo microphone in a good location. The music itself is a catchy and mesmerizing steady pulse of various and sundry percussion instruments (metal, wood, skin), hollers, yelps, and rococo melodic lines spun out by tinny electric guitars, xylophones, flutes and Khan (mouth organ.) And besides all that, it's really pretty great!
The Mississippi lp version has all new artwork, even more mysterious than the cd, housed in a thick matte finish sleeve, with NO information at all, not even on the lp labels. We're not sure in what capacity, but it was apparently put out in conjunction with Exiled - also from Portland - another great record store. So recommended. And of course, probably WAY too limited...
MPEG Stream: "Track 1"
MPEG Stream: "Track 2"

NA HAWA DOUMBIA La Grande Cantatrice Malienne Vol 3 (Awesome Tapes From Africa) cd 13.98
And as promised, now here in stock on cd and vinyl as well as cassette (listed a few weeks back)!
One evening back in early 2012 for a couple hours, we hosted an instore DJ performance by this nice fellow Brian Shimkovitz who runs the celebrated Awesome Tape From Africa blog. He brought in several cases full of rare cassettes from his collection, and they were indeed awesome! Groovy stuff from all over the continent.
His blogging and DJing activities have also now spawned a reissue label.
For this first Awesome Tape From Africa, he's selected an obscure recording from the Ivory Coast, circa 1982, by female Malinese singer Na Hawa Doumbia. It says Vol. 3 in the title, presumably it was Brian's favorite of Na Hawa Doumbia's La Grande Cantatrice Malienne tapes. If you were here for his DJing, or have ever checked out the stuff on his blog, you know it's gonna be good! Full of tumbling drum-heavy rhythms, pierced by Doumbia's higher register vocals, sometimes impressively soaring, singing these "diadai" dances. Joyful in sound, but also full of cautionary warnings about betrayal and other misfortune.
MPEG Stream: "Koro Dia (a Mamaye Drame L'inoubliable)"
MPEG Stream: "Kungo Sonogi"

NA HAWA DOUMBIA La Grande Cantatrice Malienne Vol 3 (Awesome Tapes From Africa) lp 15.98
And as promised, now here in stock on cd and vinyl as well as cassette (listed a few weeks back)!
One evening back in early 2012 for a couple hours, we hosted an instore DJ performance by this nice fellow Brian Shimkovitz who runs the celebrated Awesome Tape From Africa blog. He brought in several cases full of rare cassettes from his collection, and they were indeed awesome! Groovy stuff from all over the continent.
His blogging and DJing activities have also now spawned a reissue label.
For this first Awesome Tape From Africa, he's selected an obscure recording from the Ivory Coast, circa 1982, by female Malinese singer Na Hawa Doumbia. It says Vol. 3 in the title, presumably it was Brian's favorite of Na Hawa Doumbia's La Grande Cantatrice Malienne tapes. If you were here for his DJing, or have ever checked out the stuff on his blog, you know it's gonna be good! Full of tumbling drum-heavy rhythms, pierced by Doumbia's higher register vocals, sometimes impressively soaring, singing these "diadai" dances. Joyful in sound, but also full of cautionary warnings about betrayal and other misfortune.
MPEG Stream: "Koro Dia (a Mamaye Drame L'inoubliable)"
MPEG Stream: "Kungo Sonogi"

NA HAWA DOUMBIA La Grande Cantatrice Malienne Vol 3 (Awesome Tapes From Africa) cassette 8.98
One evening earlier this week, for a couple hours, we hosted an instore DJ performance by this nice fellow Brian Shimkovitz who runs the celebrated Awesome Tape From Africa blog. He brought in several cases full of rare cassettes from his collection, and they were indeed awesome! Groovy stuff from all over the continent.
His blogging and DJing activities have also now spawned a reissue label, and when he was here we grabbed a few copies of his debut release, on cassette of course - though it's also out on cd and vinyl, and we should get some of those eventually too. But the limited edition cassettes are what he had with him. It is Awesome TAPES From Africa after all!!
For this first Awesome Tape From Africa, he's selected an obscure recording from the Ivory Coast, circa 1982, by female Malinese singer Na Hawa Doumbia. It says Vol. 3 in the title, presumably it was Brian's favorite of Na Hawa Doumbia's La Grande Cantatrice Malienne tapes. If you were here for his DJing, or have ever checked out the stuff on his blog, you know it's gonna be good! Full of tumbling drum-heavy rhythms, pierced by Doumbia's higher register vocals, sometimes impressively soaring, singing these "diadai" dances. Joyful in sound, but also full of cautionary warnings about betrayal and other misfortune.
Comes with download code!

NABAY, AHMED JANKA Bubu King (True Panther Sounds) 12" 9.98

NAKED PREY, THE (OST) (Latitude) cd 14.98
Soundtrack to Cornel Wilde's 1966 film. Shot on location in Africa (Rhodesia, South Africa, Bechuanaland & Mozambique) -- often hundreds of miles from the nearest village -- with a cast composed almost entirely of non-professional actors (most had never acted before in their lives), a minimal budget and a whole lot of blood, sweat & tears (literally), The Naked Prey brought method acting to new levels. The music chosen to be the score for the film is every bit as authentic as the shooting locations, for it is all composed and played by the N'guni clans amongst whom the crew worked and filmed. While Wilde of course selected the tracks from what the N'guni played for him during the filming, the music is just as they performed it. The entire score is merely recordings of drums, chants, strange animal imitations, and the natural ambience of the bush, ie: field recordings. Thank god this preceeded the medling interference of the world beat puveyors Peter Gabriel et. al. And actually, the score in and of itself was a bit of cutting edge concept. As is pointed out in the liner notes, this was released the same year as Nonesuch began their Explorer series and long before any kind of major world music industry. Another fine release from Latitude.
MPEG Stream: "Puberty Song"
MPEG Stream: "Animal Imitations"

NASCIMENTO, MILTON Clube Da Esquina (World Pacific) cd 16.98
This is the one! If you've ever heard someone playing Milton Nascimento, some sweet soothing sounds dazzling your ears, chances are it was this record. As many of us can attest to, just picking out any Milton Nascimento record can be a bit risky as his entire back catalog is quite varied and there are some not so hot moments, but all sins are forgiven with this record, an album that we dare say ranks as one of our favorite albums of all time!
Clube Da Esquina is a stunning disc of psychedelic pop that manage to be as dreamy and pastoral as it is tropical and full of life. Bursting with warmth and rich color this is a record we will never get sick of. It's not psychedelic in an obvious look-how-weird-I-can-be way, but instead it's about a slow melting lull, soft swirls and subtle shifts in sounds. One moment it's the dreamiest most lovely song you've ever heard and the next the warm sun is shining and all you want to be doing is running and twirling in the sand. As lush, gorgeous and dynamic as anything Caetano Veloso has created. We can't praise this record enough! Lo Borges is the big unsung hero of this album, not even 20 years old when it was made he helped with many of the arrangements, sang and wrote many of the songs...
Truly a perfect album from start to finish, an hour long trip filled with sunshine and surprise, melody and sophisticated glory. It's no surprise that songs on this record have been covered by the likes of Savath & Savalas and Tortoise and Bonnie Prince Billy. As these are songs that will always sound so alive and of the moment. Undoubtedly it's a record that's had a huge impact on everyone from Devendra Banhart, The Shins, Eden Express, Beck, Brightblack, Vetiver, Jose Gonzales, etc. And a must have for anyone who loves folks like Veloso, Gerard Manset, Eduardo Mateo, Congregacion, Alceu Valenca, Serge Gainsbourg, The Beatles, Melting Glass Box, Magical Power Mako, etc. No matter how obscure or mainstream your tastes tend to be, this is one of those records whose beauty and genius just can't be denied. We know we're always telling you about so many amazing records that you really just can't live without, but this time (again!) we really mean it!
MPEG Stream: "Sa’das E Bandeiras N¼ 2"
MPEG Stream: "Cravo E Canela"
MPEG Stream: "Lilia"
MPEG Stream: "O Trem Azul"

NASCIMENTO, MILTON Clube Da Esquina (4 Men With Beards) 2lp 24.00
This all time aQ fave now available as a fancy double lp!
This is the one! If you've ever heard someone playing Milton Nascimento, some sweet soothing sounds dazzling your ears, chances are it was this record. As many of us can attest to, just picking out any Milton Nascimento record can be a bit risky as his entire back catalog is quite varied and there are some not so hot moments, but all sins are forgiven with this record, an album that we dare say ranks as one of our favorite albums of all time!
Clube Da Esquina is a stunning disc of psychedelic pop that manage to be as dreamy and pastoral as it is tropical and full of life. Bursting with warmth and rich color this is a record we will never get sick of. It's not psychedelic in an obvious look-how-weird-I-can-be way, but instead it's about a slow melting lull, soft swirls and subtle shifts in sounds. One moment it's the dreamiest most lovely song you've ever heard and the next the warm sun is shining and all you want to be doing is running and twirling in the sand. As lush, gorgeous and dynamic as anything Caetano Veloso has created. We can't praise this record enough! Lo Borges is the big unsung hero of this album, not even 20 years old when it was made he helped with many of the arrangements, sang and wrote many of the songs...
Truly a perfect album from start to finish, an hour long trip filled with sunshine and surprise, melody and sophisticated glory. It's no surprise that songs on this record have been covered by the likes of Savath & Savalas and Tortoise and Bonnie Prince Billy. As these are songs that will always sound so alive and of the moment. Undoubtedly it's a record that's had a huge impact on everyone from Devendra Banhart, The Shins, Eden Express, Beck, Brightblack, Vetiver, Jose Gonzales, etc. And a must have for anyone who loves folks like Veloso, Gerard Manset, Eduardo Mateo, Congregacion, Alceu Valenca, Serge Gainsbourg, The Beatles, Melting Glass Box, Magical Power Mako, etc. No matter how obscure or mainstream your tastes tend to be, this is one of those records whose beauty and genius just can't be denied. We know we're always telling you about so many amazing records that you really just can't live without, but this time (again!) we really mean it!
MPEG Stream: "Sa’das E Bandeiras N¼ 2"
MPEG Stream: "Cravo E Canela"
MPEG Stream: "Lilia"
MPEG Stream: "O Trem Azul"

NASCIMENTO, MILTON Courage (Verve / A&M) cd 12.98
Milton Nascimento's North American debut record from 1969 came at the end of the huge wave of the bossa nova movement that had infiltrated the American imagination since Astrud Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" with Stan Getz in 1963. A&M records and producer Creed Taylor were behind some of the best records of this period including albums by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes and Joao Gilberto, and Nascimento's Courage is no exception. Beautifully arranged and sung, this is where many of his most popular Brazilian songs were heard for the first time including "Vera Cruz", "Morro Velho" and "Bridges (Travessia)". Singing in Portuguese, English and sometimes wordlessly, this is a breathtaking record. While it doesn't have the psych flourishes and Tropicalia bent of Cluba Da Esquina, from a few years later (a unanimous store favorite!) it's still an essential record and perfect for lazy and wistful summer evenings.
MPEG Stream: "Vera Cruz"
MPEG Stream: "Rio Vermelho"
MPEG Stream: "Cancao Do Sol"

NASCIMENTO, MILTON Minas (Water) cd 14.98

NASIBOV, EDALAT L'Art Du Saz (Ocora Radio France) cd 16.98

NAT PWE Burma's Carnival Of Spirit Soul (Sublime Frequencies) dvd 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Like the Jemaa El Fna DVD on Sublime Frequencies, the Nat Pwe DVD also contains no voice over, authoritative or not, to mis-guide you through the festivities. Instead, using the camera in the same way someone might make a field recording in the traditional auditory realm, you are led merely by the camera angles and edits chosen. As a way of background, here's what Sublime Frequencies writes about the event contained here: "In Burma, many people believe in ghost spirits called NATs. These spirits are historical figures who met tragic or violent deaths. They are said to possess the power to assist or devastate the lives of those who recognize them. A PWE is a ceremony held to appease a Nat. Pwes are arranged daily throughout Burma for many purposes including the achievement of success in business, a happy marriage, or improving one's health. A Nat is summoned through a Kadaw; the flamboyent and charismatic master of the Pwe dressed in elegant costume. The Kadaw is a spirit medium, dancer, storyteller, and magician who exposes the crowd to a living incarnation of the Nat brought forth through opening ritual and careful observance of tradition. Many of the Kadaws are male crossdressers performing the role of female Nats and the Nat culture attracts the homosexual, occult, artistically expressive and more outgoing elements of the Burmese population. Cash money is thrown and cigarettes and whiskey are hand delivered by the Kadaw to the willing faithful. Audience participants are often ecstatic, spontaneously launching into trance as the Nat spirit possesses their bodies while the melodically ornamental and thundering sound of the Nat Pwe orchestra plays on as perhaps the last, great unknown musical juggernaut existing anywhere. Each Pwe has its own mood and Nats can dictate a variety of happenings and unpredictable phenomenon. Since the 11th century, there have been 37 officially recognized Nats and every August, in the village of Taungbyon, there is a festival dedicated to two of them. This festival is one of the greatest spectacles on earth. At the peak of the Taungbyon celebration, there are dozens of very intimate venues holding continuous Pwe's for 48 hours without interruption bubbling with excitement and intensity all within the narrow alleys of bamboo shelters amidst a vibe of mysterious, electric charm. What results is the magnetic, unexplainable concoction of conservative tradition, free expression, music, dance, spirit possession, and anomolous synchronicities of Burma's Carnival Of Spirit Soul." Insane stuff. The film begins in the daytime following hundreds of pilgrims as they make their way to the event and ends late into the night after the festivities have reached a zenith of frenzied performance and audience participation. The camera wanders from tent to tent, each one containing a Kadaw, a Nat Pwe Orchestra (a completely crazed percussion ensemble about as removed from Burmese Harp music as you can get) and crammed with people making offerings (mostly pinning money to the Kadaw's head dress and blouse). There's really no way to do it justice in describing this event. If there were ever a comparison in the U.S. it would have to be like a transvestite tent revival held in a New Orleans graveyard with musical accompaniment by the Ruins. Running 85 minutes, I've found this disc also works nicely just as an audio recording. For those of you with a multi-format disc player, it makes a truly cool CD as well. While we forwarn those living overseas that this disc is NTSC, it is also region-free, so if you can handle the format you're in like Flint. Comes with an 8 page booklet of notes and photos.

NATH FAMILY Sounds of the Indian Snake Charmer (Hanson) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
On a brief break from bursting ear drums and shredding synthesizers and destroying clubs in Wolf Eyes, Aaron Dilloway spent a brief period living in Nepal with his wife. While she studied, Dilloway wandered the streets, where he encountered the Nath family, Titu, Kala, Sukha and Ram Chendra, three generations, all street performers, hustlers, and SNAKE CHARMERS. Well, Dilloway quickly befriended the family, hung out, drank, smoked and most importantly recorded their amazing talents. Haunting and dizzying Eastern melodies, performed on traditional bamboo reed instruments called pungis and accompanied by a stringed percussion instrument called a premtal. So lovely, swaying and swooning, droney and buzzy, all hovering above a fluctuating framework of tribal percussion and shuffling, rattling rhythms. At times playful and bouncy (supposedly that's some Bollywood music) but more often mesmerizing and hypnotic, a wavering warbling drone. You can't really hear the swaying cobras, but if you listen really close you can hear folks walking past, talking, cars, all adding to the feeling that you are right there, in an alley in Nepal, seated before huge hooded snakes, being lulled into a trance by the endlessly droning Eastern buzz. Comes in a super snazzy three color silkscreened sleeve. Vinyl only, and limited!!

NATH, PANDIT PRAN Earth Groove: The Voice Of Cosmic India (Change / Mississippi) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
***MISSISSIPPI RECORDS!!!***MISSISSIPPI RECORDS!!!***MISSISSIPPI RECORDS!!!***MISSISSIPPI RECORDS!!!***
Like a Pavlovian bell, just the mere utterance of this vinyl-only Portland label gets everyone aflutter, ready to eagerly acquire, no matter what the sounds contained inside. We suppose if they put out a record solely of sounds made by cement mixers, back-hoes or traffic noises and packaged it in a sweet homemade album cover with nostalgic photos of antique construction equipment, and called it something like "My Heart Belongs To The Public Works", we'd sell out of them just as fast as their awesome compilations of pre-war blues or their reissues of obscure post-punk groups. As cool as that actually sounds, the not one, but TWO Mississippi releases we have this week are both super stellar and we know everyone is going to want at least one if not both of them.
Earth Groove is a reissue of the debut 1968 recording by Master Hindustani classical singer Pandit Pran Nath. Considering his major influence on the giants of twentieth-century minimalist composition and drone music of all forms, as well as the amazing dearth of available recordings on cd let alone on vinyl, this is a MUST HAVE!! Featuring two fantastic side long ragas, Raaga Bhoopali designed for meditation after sunset and Raaga Asavari designed for meditation after sunrise, this is spiritual music of the highest order made for the purpose of destroying negative energy. But it is its amazing sounds of buzzing tamboura drones and tabla rhythms with Pran Nath's perfectly intonated and slowly unfolding vocal style that should please all fans of otherworldly cosmic sounds.
Master of the Kirana Ghirana school, it is believed that Pran Nath spent five years of his life in a cave perfecting his austere intonated singing style. Heavily emphasizing the alap, the opening section of the raga that is unmetered, improvised and unaccompanied (except for the tamboura drone), that sets up a slow tempo and can often last more than an hour. Pran Nath's unwavering adherence to the principles of his vocal style was not that popular to the ears of modern Indians, but it is this recording that reached the open minds of minimalist composer La Monte Young and visual artist Marion Zazeela who persuaded Pran Nath to move to America and start his own school of music in New York. Just rattling off the names of his top students shows what an indelible influence Pran Nath was to late twentieth century music: Terry Riley, Charlemagne Palestine, Henry Flynt, Jon Hassell, Douglas Leedy, Don Cherry, Lee Konitz, Jon Gibson, Yoshi Wada, Rhys Chatham, Michael Harrison, W. A. Mathieu, Sufi Pir Shabda Kahn, Catherine Christer Hennix, and Simone Forti. Enough said.
After being completely enraptured with the extensive and expensive double disc Midnight we reviewed a while back, some folks may not have had the time or means to see what we were raving about, so it's really nice to have this perfect and affordable introduction to Pran Nath's intense and penetratingly beautiful sound world, while they last!

NATH, PANDIT PRAN Midnight / Raga Malk (Just Dreams) 2cd 41.00
This recording, the musical life of Pandit Pran Nath, his influence on Western minimalism, his importance to music, both modern and traditional, is steeped in history, but just as important, if not harder to describe, is the sound. A warm drifting dreamscape, layers of buzz and hum and drone, Nath's perfectly intonated vocals, hovering weightless above a thick swirl of Sitar string buzz and slowly shifting drones. This is true drone music. Warm and rich, thick and effervescent. Densely layered but light and airy. Truly difficult to describe, but a record that has immmediately become one of the most played / listened to records around these parts. Nath spent most of his life studying and performing in India, and became well known for his strict adherence to the authentic rendering of traditional ragas and an unwillingness to change his style or sound to be more 'modern'. His focus on the slower 'alap' sections of ragas was an obvious influence on seventies minimalists like La Monte Young and Terry Riley (both students of his), and other students / followers included Don Cherry, Rhys Chatham, Henry Flynt and many others. He eventually became a US citizen and continued performing, composing and teaching right up until his death. There is a definite dearth of recordings, considering how long Nath had been performing, this 2 disc set was originally released in 2002, and has luckily been reissued. The price tag is steep, but once these sounds hit your ears, any thoughts of price or money as well as all of your other earthly worries will just drift away. Both of these performances, one from 1971 recorded in San Francisco, the other in NYC in 1976, feautre Nath accompanied by Western musicians, Terry Riley, Ann Riley, La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, who seem perfectly in tune with Nath's sound and vision. Anyone who loves the music of Chalk, Coleclough, Mirror, Ora, Organum, any of that minimal drone music, would do well to dig deep and discover the roots of that music. This is most definitely some of the most beautiful, transcendental drone music we have ever heard.
MPEG Stream: "Midnight (4 VIII 71 SF)"

NATH, PANDIT PRAN The Raga Cycle, PalaceTheatre, Paris 1972 (Sri Moonshine) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1 (Excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1 (Excerpt 2)"

NATHAMUNI BROTHERS Madras 1974 (Fire Musem) cd 14.98

NATIONAL JAZZ TRIO OF SCOTLAND, THE Christmas Album (Karaoke Kalk) lp 16.98
Yes, it's that time of year again, where all we hear outside the store is the worst Christmas music imaginable playing incessantly everywhere. Luckily over the years, we've been able to find a few select holiday gems to play in the store that don't make our skin crawl. Like John Fahey's The New Possibility, A John Waters' Christmas, Basinski's Silent Night (now sadly out of print) and Low's beautifully solemn Christmas album. This year we got a new treat in the form of this strangely monikered National Jazz Trio Of Scotland. We say strangely monikered because this is neither a trio nor is it jazz, but really what it is is Scottish musician Bill Wells and a handful of like-minded musical compatriots taking apart and rebuilding (respectfully) the traditional Christmas carol canon. Musically, Wells brings an eerie hushed chill and a charming vibrant peacefulness to the proceedings that sound like carols heard shortly after a quiet early morning snowfall. With just keyboards, piano, viola and voices, this is definitely great for keeping the ire of holiday tension down to a sedate manageable minimum. Lovely!
MPEG Stream: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
MPEG Stream: "Winter Wonderland"
MPEG Stream: "We Three Kings"

NAWAHI, KING BENNIE Hawaiian String Virtuoso (Yazoo) cd 16.98
Though he was dubbed the "King of the Ukulele" and capitalized on that title throughout his career (touring extensively on the vaudeville circuit as a ukulele soloist), Bennie Nawahi was equally adept at guitar, steel guitar, mandolin and harmonica. In fact, it is his steel guitar playing that is a paramount focus on the 23 tracks found here. This cd is essentially a compilation of groups that featured Bennie as a musician or leader throughout the 20's and early 30's. Given the variety of ensembles presented here as well as Bennie's versatility with jazz, Hawaiian, ragtime, blues and country idioms the over-all tenor of this cd is of variegated unity. Recommended.