GILSON, JEF The Best Of... (Jazzman) 2lp 29.00
The last time we were this jazzed (sorry, couldn't help it!) about a jazz reissue of an artist we had very little or no knowledge of beforehand, was the great Lloyd Miller collection, A Lifetime In Oriental Jazz. So it makes perfect sense that Jazzman, the amazing label who brought us Lloyd Miller, is now introducing us to the musical world of Jef Gilson, a talented French musician, arranger, band leader, sound engineer, music teacher, label owner, and multi instrumentalist. The songs that make up this best of collection are some of the most irresistible, suave, soulful and surprising that we've heard in any form in such a long time.
Spanning a period from the early '60s into the '90s this shows so many different facets of Gilson's recording career. From bebop, to orchestral pop, to multi cultural intersections, to hypnotizing operatic excursions. This is forward thinking jazz, filled with exquisite playing but more importantly an endlessly creative and explorative mindset that has left every track on this collection feeling so fresh and alive all these years later. This is one of those records we would like Yo La Tengo to check out next time they were in the store, as we could really imagine Ira and Georgia at home in their living room reading and relaxing while the sounds of Jef Gilson provided the perfect ambience to a crisp fall morning.
80 minutes of music, 32 pages of in depth liner notes, this might just be a contender for jazz we'd never heard of before reissue of the year! Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Up To The Light"
MPEG Stream: "Un Pas, Deux Pas, Cent Pas"
MPEG Stream: "Blue-Bizz"

GNAWA BAMBARA Mallem Abdenbi El Gadari (Dunya) cd 24.00

GOLDEN RING, THE Iranian Styled 60's Garage & Other Exotic Sounds (Persianna) cd 25.00
We first heard the Golden Ring on the amazing compilation Raks Raks Raks: 17 Golden Garage Psych Nuggets From The Iranian 60's Scene, and we knew we had to hear more, and just like that, a collection of 7"s and assorted tracks from the band that was one of the first and most important Iranian garage bands, mixing traditional Iranian music and instrumentation with Western pop of the time, like the Beatles, the results were mindblowing, totally ahead of their time, even know these songs sound incredible, catchy and groovy, but also totally psychedelic and mysterious.
The band never recorded a proper album, which makes this collection all the more amazing, every track here rules, it's a wonder this wasn't reissued ages ago. This is head and shoulders above much of the stuff that gets touted as lost classics.
The collection begins with "Tulip" that sounds like it could have been a Joe Meek production, in fact much of this record had us thinking it could have been a made up band masterminded by Meek, it's that far out, and that brilliant. "Tulip" adds swirling organ to twangy surf guitars, definitely offering a nod, intentional or otherwise to the Telstars, but it's track two where things get really good.
"Beauty" begins with tinkling melodies, and Bollywood like vocals, the sound swirling and definitely psychedelic, very dynamic and groovy, but them in come soaring operatic female vocals, and did we mention the stop start breakdown complete with whistling, so good, so totally classic, but at the same time, so unlike any of the other vintage garage rock we've heard.
And so it goes, much of the record is definitely very Middle Eastern sounding, almost like Iranian folk music given a garage makeover, the Beatles influence is definitely all over the place, as is plenty of whistling, and more of that swirly organ, the production is fantastic, lush, but definitely experimental, there's harmonica, giving those tracks a twangy Morricone vibe, there are dizzying organ driven rockers, the sound murky and washed out, the melodies tangled and weirdly atonal, there are some parts that sound very Bollywood, others just sound totally far out.
"Sun Full Moon" is a favorite, the whole song warped and warbly, guitars bending and swerving, the harmonicas practically melting, it sounds like the pitch is constantly shifting, like a mistake in mastering, but the result is super tripped out and amazing. This whole collection is just fantastic, hard to work on the list cuz this is pretty much all we want to listen to. Totally recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Tulip"
MPEG Stream: "Beauty"
MPEG Stream: "Dancing Beauties"
MPEG Stream: "Heads Or Tails"

GONZALEZ, RUBEN Chanchullo (Nonesuch) cd 16.98
With most any album from Buena Vista Social Club pianist Ruben Gonzalez, you can be assured of highly uplifting Cuban music, this one is no exception. Simply gorgeous.

GONZALEZ, RUBEN Introducing... (Nonesuch/World Circuit) cd 17.98
So wonderful! Ry Cooder says Ruben Gonzalez is "the greatest piano soloist I have ever heard in my life. A Cuban cross between Thelonious Monk and Felix the Cat." The liner notes read: "This is the debut album by one of Cuba's national treasures. Made over fifty years after his first classic recordings with the great Arsenio Rodriguez, it was recorded 'live' with no overdubs in two days at Egrem Studios in Havana."

GOOGOOSH s/t (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 16.98
Oh Googoosh! We were pretty thrilled when this came in as we've been anticipating a collection of her recordings ever since many of us first heard her mind blowing track "Talagh" on that great Pomegranates compilation of Persian pop, psych, and funk from the '60s and '70s. Luckily, Iranian singer Googoosh was no one hit wonder, as this collection shows that pretty much every song she made during this era (1970-'75) is totally awe-inspiring. Like the perfect cross between the explosive psychedelia of Selda and the introspective folk of Pari Zangeneh. Her voice reels you in and the music's alluring and dynamic swirling melodies leave you in the throes of serious sonic pleasure.
Much like Turkey's Selda, Googoosh's music had such a brave and fiery political stance to it as well. Sadly much of her music was banned by the Iranian government by the end of the 1970s, and many of her records were literally burned and destroyed. Luckily, from what copies did remain, Andy Votel worked his Finders Keepers magic and has compiled an amazing collection of one of the greatest voices to come out of Iran (and anywhere else for that matter)!
MPEG Stream: "Shekayat"
MPEG Stream: "Pishkesh"
MPEG Stream: "Mano Tou"

GOSLINGS, THE / ROXANNE JEAN POLISE Heaven Of Animals (X Died Enroute Y) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MPEG Stream: "Pixelated Blue Flashes Of Past Lives"
MPEG Stream: "Thotrol"

GOSTA BERLINGS SAGA Detta Har Hant (Transubstans) cd 15.98

GOUDE, JEAN-PHILIPPE Drones (Lion Productions) cd 14.98
Moogs. Magma. Need we say more? All right, we will. This reissued 1980 album is both very Moog-y and very Magmoid. Mostly instrumental, it was the work of classically trained French pianist Jean-Philippe Goude, who was also interested in jazz, rock, and minimalism, and who had played keyboards with the Magma offshoot band Weidorje in the late '70s. So though this is a solo album, he got a lot of help from various heavy friends... usual suspects from the French prog-synth-rock underground, including members of Magma and Heldon (Klaus Blasquiz, Bernard Paganotti, Patrick Gauthier, Richard Pinhas, Francois Auger, and many more, what a lineup!). Thus this fits in snuggly with the Magma-inspired, jazz meets prog "Zeuhl" movement, especially tracks like opener "Les Saturnales" (with Blasquiz on vocals) or the exciting quadruple-guitar heaviness of "Dies Irae". But this is a varied album, and despite all the guests, two tracks feature no one but Goude alone, including the quite strange and effective soundscape piece "Coma". He also does a piano/synth duet with Heldon's Pinhas on the original album's final track "Cantiliene", which has that sort of Romantic, classical vibe we associate with Cluster's Roedelius. We say original album's final track, 'cause this cd reish closes with a bonus cut, the relaxed, loping, rather happy-sounding "Trio Des Mini-Moogs". Another track we should mention is the fantastic "Machine", wherein the melancholic strings of a chamber music quartet are overtaken by bleeping, burbling mad scientist synth and chugging mechanical beats.
The entire album is a delight, being both experimental and avant-garde, AND mesmerically melodic. Like we said, interestingly varied, but always with an aura of refinement, elegance and careful composition. It makes sense that Goude would go on to make a career out of library music and soundtracks for film and television. Indeed, if we understand the liner notes correctly, several of the tracks here were rearranged from pieces Goude had previously written for a pair of privately pressed lps, commissioned for the use of the French national gymnastics federation (???).
You'll find those extensive liner notes, vintage photos, etc. in the cd booklet. Lion has done their usual thorough labor-of-love job here, although this could have used one more round of proofreading, as we noticed a few insignificant typographic errors. The only potentially confusing one, being that the tracklist on the back cover has the songs numbered 1-12, omitting 5 though, as actually there's only 11 tracks... whoops. But other than that minor glitch, this is nicely done, with the original album's retro-futuristic graphics carefully reproduced. Love the neon-looking script for the text!!
Definitely glad they reissued this, having never heard it before, many of us here at AQ are digging it, even the not so Magma obsessed. And while perhaps "warmer" than some French coldwave, fans of that sort of thing should check this out, it certainly has something in common (including personnel) with Bernard Szajner's stuff, for instance.
MPEG Stream: "Machine"
MPEG Stream: "Dies Irae"
MPEG Stream: "Tintinnabulum"

GRANCHER, PHILIPPE 3,000 Miles Away (Mellow) cd 26.00
Prog fiends! We happen to have just a few copies of this import cd reissue in stock, an instrumental French prog artifact from 1977, so we thought we'd list it for those of you who might be into the moody mixture of romantic piano with grandiose synth drones and occasional bursts of musique concret style "sampling" that is distinctively demonstrated here... While there are several other musicians involved, it'll give you some idea of what this is all about if we tell you (in French) what instruments chief performer and composer Phillipe Grancher is credited with on the sleeve: "piano acoustique et electrique, synthetiseurs, mellotron, orgue, strings ensemble, effets speciaux". This is, apparently, Grancher's only solo album, but it was produced by Philip Bescombes, whose name may be better known to you prog fiendy types, having made several interesting albums of his own, some in collaboration with synthesizer player Jean-Louis Rizet, who also appears here as well.
It's really quite lovely, but with sudden surprises throughout. Lush, pretty piano melodies often trip delicately into the blip-bleep of sci-fi electronics, or even strange giggling voices. And on side two, the album "rocks out" just a bit more, adding electric guitar, bass and drums for extra bombastic effect. As an example, the 10 minute "Flip Flop" begins quite dramatically with the sounds of an explosion, accompanied by ominous synth flourishes and martial drumming, before mellowing out into mesmeric passages for piano and gentle guitar.
3000 Miles Away is definitely a pretty cool prog obscurity, one that we'd perhaps suggest to fans of Goblin, for instance. We can certainly imagine this being used as a soundtrack to some strange and beautiful cult film.
MPEG Stream: "3000 Miles Away"
MPEG Stream: "Flip Flop"
MPEG Stream: "Birds, birds"

GREEN ARROWS, THE 4 Track Recording Session (Open House / Analog Africa) 2lp 22.00

GROUP BOMBINO Guitars From Agadez Vol. 2 (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
Hope you didn't panic when the super limited vinyl version of this amazing record sold out. We're never sure if the SF lps will come out on cd, so far they all have, but maybe those Sublime Frequencies guys just like to keep us guessing. Anyway, for those of you who did somehow miss out on this, or did get the lp and want the cd too, it's now finally available as a cd! And is still, and again, absolutely essential...
Yet another new sonic document from the mighty Sublime Frequencies, this one a continuation of sorts, again exploring the world of Tuareg guitar music from Agadez in Niger, first explored on the amazing Group Inerane release a while back. And strangely enough, both band share members, so folks who loved the Group Inerane will likely love this too.
The music scene in Agadez is unique in many ways, but perhaps the strangest element is the fact that none of the bands can afford to own their own instruments, there is one PA and one set of amps that get passed from show to show, and guitars are borrowed and lent out, as are band members, with musicians joining different groups as they are available. Remarkably, while the sounds are indeed similar, they are also quite unique.
Group Bombino is headed up by 28 year old Oumara Almoctar, aka Bombino, who was inspired by more well known Tuareg musicians like Tinariwen and Ali Farka Toure to create his own music and to continue to spread the sounds and spirit of Tuareg and Agadez.
So here we have the first proper worldwide release by Bombino and his group, and it's gorgeous. Two distinct sides, the A side features Bombino's "dry" guitar sound, sort of acoustic, the guitars, spidery and slinky, the percussion simple and spare, hand claps, hand drums, the vocals lilting and emotional, all very repetitive and hypnotic, the vocals chantlike over the propulsive rhythms and the almost looped sounding guitar parts.
The flip side features Group Bombino plugging in and letting loose, the root sound is quite similar, but the guitars buzz and wail, chugging out those hypnotic riffs, but also spiralling out into wild leads, tangled melodies, the drums a bit hard, the vocals sitting further back in the mix, ebullient and joyous, but not without tension and emotion and some subtle sorrow and anger, this is after all the sounds or rebellion and revolution, an outlet for the frustration at the unrest and upheaval in Niger and Agadez. So fantastic.
As with pretty much everything Sublime Frequencies, ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED, and for sure, anyone who dug the Group Inerane (a past Record Of The Week), will go crazy for Group Bombino as well!
MPEG Stream: "Tenere"
MPEG Stream: "Imuhar"
MPEG Stream: "Boghassa"
MPEG Stream: "Imouhare"

GROUP BOMBINO Guitars From Agadez Vol. 2 (Sublime Frequencies) lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another awesome vinyl-only document from the mighty Sublime Frequencies, this one a continuation of sorts, again exploring the world of Tuareg guitar music from Agadez in Niger, first explored on the amazing Group Inerane release a while back. And strangely enough, both band share members, so folks who loved the Group Inerane will likely love this too.
The music scene in Agadez is unique in many ways, but perhaps the strangest element is the fact that none of the bands can afford to own their own instruments, there is one PA and one set of amps that get passed from show to show, and guitars are borrowed and lent out, as are band members, with musicians joining different groups as they are available. Remarkably, while the sounds are indeed similar, they are also quite unique.
Group Bombino is headed up by 28 year old Oumara Almoctar, aka Bombino, who was inspired by more well known Tuareg musicians like Tinariwen and Ali Farka Toure to create his own music and to continue to spread the sounds and spirit of Tuareg and Agadez.
So here we have the first proper worldwide release by Bombino and his group, and it's gorgeous. Two distinct sides, the A side features Bombino's "dry" guitar sound, sort of acoustic, the guitars, spidery and slinky, the percussion simple and spare, hand claps, hand drums, the vocals lilting and emotional, all very repetitive and hypnotic, the vocals chantlike over the propulsive rhythms and the almost looped sounding guitar parts.
The flip side features Group Bombino plugging in and letting loose, the root sound is quite similar, but the guitars buzz and wail, chugging out those hypnotic riffs, but also spiralling out into wild leads, tangled melodies, the drums a bit hard, the vocals sitting further back in the mix, ebullient and joyous, but not without tension and emotion and some subtle sorrow and anger, this is after all the sounds or rebellion and revolution, an outlet for the frustration at the unrest and upheaval in Niger and Agadez. So fantastic.
As with pretty much everything Sublime Frequencies, ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED, and for sure, anyone who dug the Group Inerane (a past Record Of The Week), will go crazy for Group Bombino as well!

GROUP DOUEH Beatte Harab (Sublime Frequencies) lp 25.00
Full length number three from this amazing outfit, whose debut, Guitar Music From The Western Sahara, we made our Record Of The Week back in 2008, and whose second record, Treeg Salaam, we probably should have, both of those albums brimming with, as we mentioned in past reviews: "dizzying blasts of lo-fi electric guitar driven rhythmic African folk, clattery homemade percussion, jubilant vocalizing, repetitive and melodic and hypnotic, and super rocking."
This latest lp offers up a different side of the band's sound, songs that adhere to the roots of Saharoui music, the roots of Group Doueh's sound, played mostly on traditional Moorish instruments: the tinidit (a three string lute), the ardin (a kora-like harp), the tbal (a clay drum) and the kass (tea glasses), but this is Group Doueh after all so those traditional instruments are augmented by synths and GUITARS!
The opening track is sooooo gorgeous and sets the tone of the record, darkly rhythmic, lush and layered, sweet tangles of intricate melody, the arrangements emotional and propulsive and jubilant, laced with subtle drones and flurries of rapid fire notes, minimal but still so rich and dense and deep. Not all of the record is so tied to the past, after all the Group Doueh sound we know and love was born of this music, and is not really that far removed, so many of the other songs drift into more familiar territory, although the arrangements and instrumentation remain subtly closer to traditional Saharoui music, but again, since our exposure to that music has mostly been via Group Doueh records... well, you get the picture. Every song here is a fantastic celebration of sound, from sublime desert blues buzz to soaring vocal driven high life, to droned out psychedelia to super stripped down vocal/rhythm jams, and those vocals, again so incredible, so emotional and passionate, the perfect match for the music underneath which exudes the same sort of passion. The final track on side one slips back into a sound more minimal, a sprawl of hypnotic buzz and skitter, totally trancelike and hypnotic before exploding into a noisy psychedelic blowout, perfectly bookending the tracks in between.
The offers up still more fantastic desert blues folk bliss, singing strings, propulsive rhythms, vocal harmonies, some wild serious steel string wrangling guitar action of course, peppered with bits of that more minimal rhythmic traditional music, but all woven into the lush living colorful fabric of GD's gorgeous timeless sound.
As with all Sublime Frequencies vinyl releases, EXTREMELY LIMITED, this will most likely be sold out and out of print in the next week or two, pressed as always on thick vinyl and housed in a super swank, heavy full color gatefold sleeve.

GROUP DOUEH Guitar Music From The Western Sahara (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
Finally! Available on cd! One of our favorite installments in the Sublime Frequencies series, originally released only on vinyl, and super limited, so it went out of print and remained that way ever since. Until now!
This installment is one of the few Sublime Frequencies with a focus on a single group, rather than an anthology of regional folk and pop or collaged radio broadcasts.
Struck by an ecstatically squealing lo-fi blast of electric guitar from a song heard on Moroccan radio, Sub Freq's main man, Alan Bishop went on a quest for the regional origins of that particular electric sound. Canvassing numerous cassette dealers, he was only able to identify the music as Sahwari and to pinpoint the region as the Western Sahara, a disputed territory nestled on the Atlantic Coast of North Africa between Morocco and Mauritania where frequent political struggles have caused a massive displacement of the region's indigenous people. A few months later, Bishop's colleague, Hisham Mayet, armed with Bishop's recording traveled back to Morocco to continue the search, ending up in the last outpost of the Western Sahara, Daklha, where through the help of the Sahwari shopkeepers was finally led to the creator of the strange music himself, Baamar Salmou, or as he is known in Sahwari, Doueh. Born in 1964. Doueh learned guitar on a homemade instrument fashioned from pieces of wood and steel strings. In 1981, influenced by Mauritanian music as well as Spanish cassettes imported from Europe and America of Jimi Hendrix and James Brown, he formed Group Doueh, fast becoming one of the definitive groups in the region, playing in festivals all over Northern Africa and even in France and Portugal. His wife Halima later joined as a vocalist and percussionist and in later incarnations, Doueh's son Jamal joined on keyboards. The tracks on this release are all taken from Doueh's personal archive except for two recordings made by Mayet, early last year. This is definitely some of the strangest and twisted ethnic music we've heard in awhile with its buzzing lo-fi circular guitar hooks and exuberant vocalizing and infectious rhythms, reminding us of aspects of Konono No.1's DIY tinkering, Tartit's desert trance-jams and a bit of the Shaggs self-taught charm (not so much in sound, but how a lot of the guitar parts follow the vocals). It's no wonder Alan Bishop was so struck by Doueh' guitar tone, since it reminds us a bit of that employed by Bishop's own band the Sun City Girls. This is so awesome and highly recommended!!
MPEG Stream: "Eid For Dakhla"
MPEG Stream: "Eid El Arsh"
MPEG Stream: "Tirara"

GROUP DOUEH Guitar Music From The Western Sahara (Sublime Frequencies) lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wow! The first vinyl-only (that's right, no plans for a cd we're told) Sublime Frequencies release focuses on a single group rather than an anthology of regional folk and pop or collaged radio broadcasts. Struck by an ecstatically squealing lo-fi blast of electric guitar from a song heard on Moroccan radio, the Sub Freq's main man, Alan Bishop went on a quest for the regional origins of that particular electric sound. Canvassing numerous cassette dealers, he was only able to identify the music as Sahwari and to pinpoint the region as the Western Sahara, a disputed territory nestled on the Atlantic Coast of North Africa between Morocco and Mauritania where frequent political struggles have caused the massive displacement of the region's indigenous people. A few months later, Bishop's colleague, Hisham Mayet, armed with Bishop's recording travelled back to Morocco to continue the search, ending up in the last outpost of the Western Sahara, Daklha, where through the help of the Sahwari shopkeepers was finally led to the creator of the strange music himself, Baamar Salmou, or as he is known in Sahwari, Doueh. Born in 1964. Doueh learned guitar on a homemade instrument fashioned from pieces of wood and steel strings. In 1981, influenced by Mauritanian music as well as Spanish cassettes imported from Europe and America of Jimi Hendrix and James Brown, he formed Group Doueh, fast becoming one of the definitive groups in the region, playing in festivals all over Northern Africa and even in France and Portugal. His wife Halima later joined as a vocalist and percussionist and in later incarnations, Doueh's son Jamal joined on keyboards. The tracks on this release are all taken from Doueh's personal archive except for two recordings made by Mayet, early last year. This is definitely some of the strangest and twisted ethnic music we've heard in awhile with its buzzing lo-fi circular guitar hooks and exhuberant vocalising and infectious rhythms, reminding us of aspects of Konono No1's DIY tinkering, Tartit's desert trance-jams and a bit of the Shaggs self-taught charm (not so much in sound, but how a lot of the guitar parts follow the vocals). Limited to 1000 copies, this is so awesome and highly recommended!!

GROUP DOUEH Treeg Salaam (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
Treeg Salaam came out on vinyl a while back, but disappeared so quickly, we never had enough to review, and before we knew it, it was out of print. So we waited and waited patiently, hoping, fingers crossed, that this too would get released as a cd and we're happy to report it finally has!
If you remember, last year we made Group Doueh's Guitar Music From The Western Sahara our Record Of The Week, and folks went crazy for it, ourselves included. A dizzying blast of lo-fi electric guitar driven rhythmic African folk, clattery homemade percussion, jubilant vocalizing, repetitive and melodic and hypnotic, and super rocking.
This latest collection is culled from the group's personal cassette archive, and definitely displays all the sides of this versatile group.
The record opener is all simple percussion, warbly wah guitar, keening vocals, group background harmonies that follow the guitar melody, mantra like and completely mesmerizing. But it's the second track where the group lets loose, with super distorted tinny guitar, whipping up a wild buzzy squall, the rhythms relentless and intense, the vocals a wild smattering of hoots and hollers, the guitar part super crunchy, growing ever more intense as the track builds to a frenzied coda before finally fading out.
The next track features some incredible, strangely effected guitar lines, all woozy and warped, super fast picking creates a twisted tremolo sound, male and female vocals intertwined into haunting harmonies, very intense and emotional, draped over that main minor key guitar part. The next track is another heavy guitar jam, the vocals nearly buried by the chunky effected riffing, all muffled and murky, but super driving and intense and wild and kick ass, with a bad ass female vocal breakdown about halfway through, totally soaring and soulful. Group Doueh must be the ultimate party band, these recordings sound incredible, and we can only imagine it sounded even better being there.
Finally, the record closes with the nearly 20 minute "Tazit Kalifa" which begins very raga like, with mumbled electric guitar, over buzzing one string drones, the vocals minimal, almost spoken, simple drums surface part way through, giving the track a little groove, but the guitars continue to buzz and drone, the vocals chanting right along, absolute African raga drone bliss. So great! And once again absolutely and utterly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Min Binat Omum"
MPEG Stream: "Ragsa Jaguar"
MPEG Stream: "Beatte Harab"

GROUP DOUEH Treeg Salaam (Sublime Frequencies) lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GROUP DOUEH Zayna Jumma (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another record from this incredible Saharan outfit, number four if you're keeping track, their first was an aQ Record Of The Week, and the other two might as well have been, wild guitar driven African folk, rhythmic and percussive, all very hypnotic and mesmerizing, trancelike for sure, with some incredible vocalizing, soulful and emotional, all wound into some of the most jubilant, energetic, emotional and original music we've ever heard.
Our first impulse this time around was to say that this was simply more of the same, but in fact, the sound has definitely changed, due in no small part to what seems to be an expanded lineup, as the elder Doueh has enlisted his next oldest sons, on synth and drum kit, and it's really the drums that are the big difference. The first track is immediately more propulsive, the production better than ever, the low end thick, the vocals way up in the mix, the drums so hypnotic, and of course the guitars, impossible tangles of super intricate melody, gnarled riffs, all woven into a sound that's surprisingly super rocking.
And actually 'super rocking' might just be the best way to describe the whole record. The aforementioned drums are powerful and ever present, and the guitars remain impossibly wild, wooly and wonderful, drenched in effects, wah and flanger, or some approximation, making the notes and riffs twist into fantastic new shapes, the keyboards adding all sorts of texture, and the newly added trio of female backup singers adds even more oomph, the choruses and call and response vocal harmonies so rich and lush.
There are a couple tracks that stand out, where the band set aside their new rocking-ness, and instead unfurl gorgeous hazily psychedelic expanses of guitar buzz, sounding more like a sitar, the melodies all tangled and interwoven, while the drums offer a deep resonant pulse, and the vocals wail passionately way down in the mix, cuz here it's about the crazy intricate dense guitar playing, which is incredible, so hypnotic and utterly mesmerizing.
The record finishes off with a lengthy jam that is definitely another of our favorites, sounding a bit more laid back than the rest of the record, less buzzy, and more warm and washed out, the guitars unfurling gorgeous little flurries of notes, the rhythms and main riff locked tight so that it almost sounds looped, and at times like the record must be skipping, those moments eventually blossoming into synth laden, softly droney stretches of strummy folk and sun dappled Afro-pop bliss, dreamy and so divine. Like all the records before, utterly fantastic, and totally recommended. We can only imagine how great it must be to see Group Doueh live, but thankfully, we won't need to imagine much longer, as this record coincides with their first US tour!!
MPEG Stream: "Zayna Jumma"
MPEG Stream: "Aziza"
MPEG Stream: "Wazan Doueh"

GROUP INERANE Guitars From Agadez (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
Originally released exclusively as a super limited lp (which is now out of print), this amazing chunk of brain melting, heart wrenching, psychedelic guitar gorgeousness is finally available on cd! The only reason we didn't make this Record Of The Week first time around was because a bunch of you still don't have turntables (shame on you!) but now it's on cd, so it pretty much had to be ROTW!
Another winner from Sublime Frequencies! We're beginning to think with all this hidden music to be discovered and lost classics to be recovered, there's definitely no point in having so many new bands, we oughta just have some of them swap their gear in and just join the hunt for all these amazing hidden sonic gems...
But until then we've got the Sublime Frequencies fellas on the case, and this latest discovery has definitely got to be one of the best yet. Group Inerane are spearheading the Tureg Guitar movement, inspired by the musicians who used this music as a political weapon in the Libyan refugee camps in the late eighties, early nineties. This is how the blues should sound. Groovy, intense, funky, emotional, dark, gorgeous, the guitars grinding and crunching and wailing, slithering and soaring, accompanied by chanted and sung vocals, that are perfectly woven into the lush fabric of the various guitar parts. The riffing is fluid, but also bit jagged and rough. The opening track is a killer. One of the most amazing and intense songs we've ever heard, worth the price of admission alone. Just guitar and vocals, chunky and propulsive, but also weirdly slippery and sinewy, the melody swaying back and forth from major key to minor key, an incredible hook and the riff, well, one of THE best riffs ever.
Most of the rest of the record is more a sort of African surf rock, fuzzy and twangy, with surfy guitar, soaring vocals, the whole thing wild and festive, jubilant and celebratory, but hold up, the final track on side one, "Nadan Al Kazawnin", is something else entirely, with its super distorted grimy guitars, a totally blown out in the red production, the riff looped and hypnotic, the vocals intense and heartfelt, the whole song howling and buzzing, sounding as gorgeously fucked up and raw as some experimental indie avant noise group, the guitar is indescribable, incendiary and white hot, all tangled up with the vocals, and bathed in distortion, wouldn't be out of place on some super limited cd-r... Totally amazing.
MPEG Stream: "Nadan Al Kazawnin"
MPEG Stream: "Kuni Majagani"
MPEG Stream: "Awal September"

GROUP INERANE Guitars From Agadez (Sublime Frequencies) lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another winner from Sublime Frequencies! We're beginning to think with all this hidden music to be discovered and lost classics to be recovered, there's definitely no point in having so many new bands, we oughta just have some of them swap their gear in and just join the hunt for all this amazing music we miss out on...
But until then we've got the Sublime Frequencies fellas on the case, and this latest discovery has definitely got to bee one of the best yet. Group Inerane are spearheading the Tureg Guitar movement, inspired by the musicians who used this music as a political weapon in the Libyan refugee camps in the late eighties, early nineties. This is how the blues should sound. Groovy, intense, funky, emotional, dark, gorgeous, the guitars grinding and crunching and wailing, slithering and soaring, accompanied by chanted and sung vocals, that are perfectly woven into the lush fabric of the various guitar parts. The riffing is fluid, but also bit jagged and rough. The opening track is a killer. One of the most amazing and intense songs we've ever heard, worth the price of admission alone. Just guitar and vocals, chunky and propulsive, but also weirdly slippery and sinewy, the melody swaying back and forth from major key to minor key, an incredible hook and the riff, well, one of THE best riffs ever.
Most of the rest of the record is more a sort of African surf rock, fuzzy and twangy, with surfy guitar, soaring vocals, the whole thing wild and festive, jubilant and celebratory, but hold up, the final track on side one, "Nadan Al Kazawnin", is something else entirely, with its super distorted grimy guitars, a totally blown out in the red production, the riff looped and hypnotic, the vocals intense and heartfelt, the whole song howling and buzzing, sounding as gorgeously fucked up and raw as some experimental indie avant noise group, the guitar is indescribable, incendiary and white hot, all tangled up with the vocals, and bathed in distortion, wouldn't be out of place on some super limited cd-r... Totally amazing.
Pressed on super thick vinyl. Packaged in a heavy duty, full color gatefold sleeve, with tons of photos and liner notes...
LIMITED ONE TIME PRESSING OF 1000 LPS!
MPEG Stream: "Nadan Al Kazawnin"
MPEG Stream: "Kuni Majagani"
MPEG Stream: "Awal September"

GROUP INERANE Guitars From Agadez Vol. 3 (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
NOW ON CD!! The limited vinyl version that we made a Record Of The Week last year quickly went out of print, as most Sublime Frequencies titles do, but thankfully now here it is on cd...
It's always exciting to get something new on Sublime Frequencies, and in this case even MORE exciting, the third in the Guitars From Agadez series, and the second from the mighty Group Inerane, leading lights of the Tureg Guitar Revolution, and in this case, revolution might be an apt description. For with the joy of new music from Group Inerane also comes sadness, as the guitarist of the group, has been shot and killed in the ongoing rebellion battles, and Inerane mainman Bibi Ahmed barely escaped with his life from the very same battle.
Hard to imagine a group like this continuing to play music, and tour and perform, in the face of such constant dangers, but for Group Inerane, Group Bombino, and other Tureg Guitar groups, this music is their rebellion, their statement, how they speak out against the senseless loss of life and oppression, and it's that emotion and energy that seeps into every not, every chord, every vocal. Extremely powerful and intense, which is also what imbues the music of Group Inerane with an ineffable magic, that had us utterly entranced at first listen, and this record follows suit.
To replace their fallen comrade, they recruited Koudede, aka Absoulahi Maman, a legendary Tureg Guitarist in his own right, the resulting chemistry is indeed potent, the sound not much changed, but the energy and interactions of course subtly different.
For those new to Group Inerane and Tureg Guitar music in general, just check out the cover, a guitar player in a super fancy satiny robe, holding his guitar up over and behind his head as he presumably SHREDS! Inside, blurred photos of the band rocking out, and that's precisely what Group Inerane traffics in, high energy desert blues, psychedelic and cyclical, hypnotic and in its own way HEAVY.
The sound is warm and sun dappled, celebratory and effusive, plenty of twang and buzz and jangle, simple motorik drumming, intensely emotional and powerful vocals, with lots of whooping and cheering and call and response, emblematic of the hope and joy in the face of the grim realities all around them. The guitar playing is of course incredible, super buzzy and mesmerizing, cool little melodic tangles, locked in tight with vocal counterpoint, or a skittery rhythm, the sound manages to be both loose and free, but also tight and locked in, the recording here is live in a room, so the sound is raw and immediate and intimate, the vocals wreathed in natural reverb, the guitars ringing out, fleck of traditional folks music woven into the groups psychedelic hypnotic desert blues, and while every track is gorgeous, and mesmerizing, like all great guitar bands, it's when they let loose, stretching out the end of a song space rock style, and let the guitars howl and sing and get all tangled up in each other, jams that could, and should go on forever, and these guys definitely have that in them, and when it happens, it's like some glorious Tinariwen / Hawkwind collision.
As always, so so good, and like much of the music we hear from Sublime Frequencies, it's so much more than just the music, we lose sight of that sometimes, but these sounds, and songs, these are people's lives, and hopes, and dreams, and it's their way to be strong and never give in. And listening to this, beyond the sheer joy and exuberance of the music, it's humbling to share in those emotions, and in this music.
MPEG Stream: "Alemin"
MPEG Stream: "Tamidit In Aicha"
MPEG Stream: "Tchigefen"

GROUP INERANE Guitars From Agadez Vol. 3 (Sublime Frequencies) lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's always exciting to get something new on Sublime Frequencies, and in this case even MORE exciting, the third in the Guitars From Agadez series, and the second from the mighty Group Inerane, leading lights of the Tureg Guitar Revolution, and in this case, revolution might be an apt description. For with the joy of new music from Group Inerane also comes sadness, as the guitarist of the group, has been shot and killed in the ongoing rebellion battles, and Inerane mainman Bibi Ahmed barely escaped with his life from the very same battle.
Hard to imagine a group like this continuing to play music, and tour and perform, in the face of such constant dangers, but for Group Inerane, Group Bombino, and other Tureg Guitar groups, this music is their rebellion, their statement, how they speak out against the senseless loss of life and oppression, and it's that emotion and energy that seeps into every not, every chord, every vocal. Extremely powerful and intense, which is also what imbues the music of Group Inerane with an ineffable magic, that had us utterly entranced at first listen, and this record follows suit.
To replace their fallen comrade, they recruited Koudede, aka Absoulahi Maman, a legendary Tureg Guitarist in his own right, the resulting chemistry is indeed potent, the sound not much changed, but the energy and interactions of course subtly different.
For those new to Group Inerane and Tureg Guitar music in general, just check out the cover, a guitar player in a super fancy satiny robe, holding his guitar up over and behind his head as he presumably SHREDS! Inside, blurred photos of the band rocking out, and that's precisely what Group Inerane traffics in, high energy desert blues, psychedelic and cyclical, hypnotic and in its own way HEAVY.
The sound is warm and sun dappled, celebratory and effusive, plenty of twang and buzz and jangle, simple motorik drumming, intensely emotional and powerful vocals, with lots of whooping and cheering and call and response, emblematic of the hope and joy in the face of the grim realities all around them. The guitar playing is of course incredible, super buzzy and mesmerizing, cool little melodic tangles, locked in tight with vocal counterpoint, or a skittery rhythm, the sound manages to be both loose and free, but also tight and locked in, the recording here is live in a room, so the sound is raw and immediate and intimate, the vocals wreathed in natural reverb, the guitars ringing out, fleck of traditional folks music woven int the groups psychedelic hypnotic desert blues, and while every track is gorgeous, and mesmerizing, like all great guitar bands, it's when they let loose, stretching out the end of a song space rock style, and let the guitars howl and sing and get all tangled up in each other, jams that could, and should go on forever, and these guys definitely have that in them, and when it happens, it's like some glorious Tinariwen / Hawkwind collision.
As always, so so good, and like much of the music we hear from Sublime Frequencies, it's so much more than just the music, we lose sight of that sometimes, but these sounds, and songs, these are people's lives, and hopes, and dreams, and it's their way to be strong and never give in. And listening to this, beyond the sheer joy and exuberance of the music, it's humbling to share in those emotions, and in this music.
Gorgeous deluxe full color gatefold sleeve, with tons of photos and plenty of liner notes. EXTREMELY LIMITED, and vinyl only (for now)...

GROUP INERANE Guitars From Agadez Vol.4 (Sublime Frequencies) 7" 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Volume four in the ongoing Sublime Frequencies Guitars From Agadez series, comes in the form of this extremely limited tour 7" from Group Inerane, and it might just be the heaviest most hypnotic jams we've heard from these guys so far. Which is saying a lot.
The A side, which plays at 33, features two fierce numbers, the first, some seriously distorted desert blues, fuzzed out guitars, wild drumming, a propulsive groove, spidery mesmerizing melodies, all distorted and in-the-red. The other track is a wild dense tangles of heavy guitars and soaring vocals, swirling and dizzyingly rocking, the sounds blurred and buzzy and gloriously incendiary.
The flipside, which plays at 45 rpm, offers up another fiery, blistery, buzzing Afro-blues blowout, all churning distorto guitars and some incredible, guitar playing, the sort of guitar mastery that puts most other technical shredders to shame, so tranced out and hypnotic, groovy, fuzzy and so so soulful.
And again, ULTRA limited, these could very well be the last copies we can get...

GUDIBRALLAN T-Doja (Silence) cd 17.98
Deranged Swedish garage prog from the early seventies. Like a punkier version of Trad Gras Och Stenar, but much looser and less focused on repetitive mantra jams. T-Doja chronicles both of their rare lps Uti Var Hage from 1970 and Gudibrallan II from 1971. Far out!

GUEBROU, TSEGUE-MARYAM Ethiopiques Vol. 21 (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Okay, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. The always amazing Ethiopiques series continues on past volume 20 with no end in sight. We were wrongly led to believe that volume 20 was to be the last in this, one of our all time favorite series, and we were heartbroken. On top of that, the final installment was quite surprisingly a live recording of modern day American musicians jamming with an Ethiopian band. It was still cool, but it was a bit tough to figure out why the curaters of this series would choose to go out on that kind of admittedly anticlimactic note, when there were certainly hundreds of buried treasures from the golden age of Ethiopian music that most definitely deserved to be unearthed. This newst volume quickly sets everything right, being entirely the solo piano of a woman named Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou. Her playing is devastatingly lovely and haunting. A curious hybrid of old time jazz and classical, but still truly Ethiopian. Dark and contemplative, moody but subtly playful as well. Culled mainly from recordings from the late 40's early 50's, a period during which Guebrou had recently left the convent due to illness, and then continued to compose and perform as a way of raising money for charity. And THAT's on the heels of having moved to Egypt and then returned to Ethiopia a figure of high society, her dream of playing piano dashed by the Emperor, which led her to sickness and then near death, she even received the last rites, survived and then joined the Imperial Guard, went back to school to study business finally fleeing to join a convent and become a nun. All the while continuing to play music, in fact she continues to perform to this day, in Ethiopia where she still lives, four of her most recent recordings (from 1996) are included here as well.
Her story is amazing, the liner notes go into great detail about her fantastic and adventurous life, but her music is equally as remarkable, the sound and feel is so dense with memory and imagery, musical but somehow quite visual, warm and woozy, a fuzzy, sepia toned old timey feel, due in no small part to the recording, which is quite reminiscent of old 78's, the soundtrack to movie Crumb, that sort of thing, dark rumbling low notes underpin sweet swirls and delicate flurries of minor key melody, sweet and lowdown for sure, warm evenings, back porches, big beautifully appointed parlors, huge empty fields, grass waving in the breeze, long late night wanders, moonlight strolls, so completely dreamy and lovely. Definitely one of out favorites so far in the series. We hope it never ends!
MPEG Stream: "The Homeless Wanderer"
MPEG Stream: "The Last Tears Of A Deceased"

GUERRA, ORLANDO "CASCARITA" El Guaracho (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.
Here is a fine collection of recordings featuring the ever capable vocalist Cascarita. Recorded between 1944 and 1946 with the backing of Cuba's most famous of Orchestras, Orquesta Casino De La Playa (plus three tracks recorded with Orquesta Siboney de Pepito Torres in Puerto Rico) Cascarita has one of the most amazing voices in Cuban music, completely reckless, half laughing and yelling, but always in control. Though the liner notes don't give indications as to the performers on this recording, but 10 to 1 the pianist is either Perez Prado (who Cascarita helped to land a job with Orquesta Casino De La Playa) or Anselmo Sacasas. Either way, the piano playing alone should be enough reason to buy this recording - top notch played with that combination ham fistedness and delicate finesse.

HALA STRANA Fielding (Last Visible Dog) 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This incredible double disc from Hala Strana made several of our year-end best of 2003 lists after it was first released in a super-limited edition cd-r format last year. It quickly, oh so quickly went out of print and has been highly sought after in the realm of eBay ever since. Now, at last, the not-too-long-promised reissue is here, done as a proper cd release, two cds that is. Everyone who missed it before has another chance to grab it, and of course we recommend that you do. (If you already are one of the lucky ones who DID get the original cd-r version, be aware that this new version does contain a ten-minute BONUS track...but the fancy handmade booklet of art and text included with the cd-r edition is NOT replicated here, so you do still do have a collector's item if you have that). We love the self-titled Hala Strana on Emperor Jones too, and also Hala Strana's more recent These Villages disc on Soft Abuse, so it's difficult to pick this as our favorite. But maybe it is. Here's what we said about this before, when it was a limited edition cd-r deal:
In terms of 'keywords' this review should go something like this: Hala Strana, Jewelled Antler, Thuja, Steven R. Smith, Mirza, limited edition cd-rs, Eastern European folk music. Eh? Ok, now some of you are already clicking ADD TO CART or headin' down to our store. But if all that was more-or-less gobbledygook to you, let's elaborate. Hala Strana, which you may already have encountered as an entry in the Jewelled Antler Library series of 3" cdrs, is a project of LA-based multi-instrumentalist (and multi-instrument builder) Steven R. Smith, who is a member of Jewelled Antler flagship improv psych group Thuja and a solo artist in his own right. Hala Strana is his vehicle for instrumental droned-out Eastern European folk music appreciation/interpretation, and really represents some of his finest work to date. Multitracking turns Steven R. Smith into a one-man village orchestra, playing everything from violin to optigan, bul bul tarang to gourd guitar, harpsichord to clay flowerpots! Bouzouki, cello, harmonium, percussion, etc. These songs also incorporate snippets of field recording tapes and sampled recordings of traditional music. Plus some of his Thuja cohorts also show up to help out.
Many of the tracks are based on traditional folk tunes from Hungary, Albania, Macedonia, Croatia, and other Balkan backwaters. If you've heard any of the wonderful Muszikas records, you'll understand Steven R. Smith's inspirations. His arrangements and instrumention turn 'em into total folk-psych gems, reminding us of certain krautrock bands, International Harvester, the Dirty Three, Kemialliset Ystavat, Black Forest/Black Sea, all sorts of good things. Utter old world beauty meets underground drone aesthetics = some kind of Transylvanian trance music. Really nice.
Really really nice in fact. We're so glad this is back in print!! THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
fe130pp
MPEG Stream: "Herding Slip"
MPEG Stream: "Balada Conducatorului"
MPEG Stream: "Lament"

HALA STRANA These Villages (Soft Abuse) cd 14.98
Every time we get in a new album from Steven R. Smith's Hala Strana it's as if we've been magically, mystically transported to one of the Olde World vistas with which he always adorns his cd covers (this one comes from the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493). He's an Eastern European influenced, drone-folk one-man-band, crafting gorgeous, mesmerizing, sometimes melancholic instrumental compositions in his home studio, incorporating sundry ethnic instruments and tapes and field recordings, in a manner quite in keeping with that of his Jewelled Antler brethren (instrument-builder Smith is an alumnus of Thuja, you might know). Only three of the songs here are authentic traditional tunes (from Latvia, Hungary, and the Caucasus), but all the rest of them also seem to derive from an ancient, far-off land of Smith's imaginings...organic, rustic, autumnal...music for meandering along a trickling stream, lazing in a meadow, peering at distant crags through a morning mist, or drinking in a ruined old tavern at night. Harmonium drones and gently plucked strings and wheezing accordion and keening hurdy gurdy (and more) are all woven by Smith into the medieval tapestry of Hala Strana's music. Ah, we love it. These Villages is Hala Strana's fourth release -- we can't say it's the best yet, only because the others were also so superlative too. Quite recommended.
MPEG Stream: "October"
MPEG Stream: "Nepdal Tarogaton"

HALO, ABDEL HADI & THE EL GUSTO ORCHESTRA OF ALGIERS s/t (Honest Jons) cd 17.98

HANDGJORT s/t (Silence) cd 34.00
Wow, this lost Swedish eastern-tinged psych-folk gem from 1970 gets a deluxe reissue. Handgjort means "handmade" and all of the original copies of the record were individually made by the band members. The reissue is on the expensive side, even for the Silence label, but that's because the label worked with the band members to make an exclusive replica of the original record with, again, unique individually handpainted covers! It also features a 32 page book about the band complete with all the reproductions of the original covers and other interesting photos of the band, as well as bonus tracks from live performances from the festival at Gardet in 1970 and 1971. Imagine a more moody Incredible String Band with less singing and more sitars and tablas!
This cd is limited to 600 copies. Also, there is an exclusive double lp version on Psykofon that is even more expensive (in the $70 range) that features 25 minutes of live material not on the cd. We probably won't get those for the store, but if anyone is interested, we can special order it for you.
MPEG Stream: "Kerola"
MPEG Stream: "Scotland The Brave"
MPEG Stream: "Columbo"
MPEG Stream: "Greg's Recitation"

HARAPPIAN NIGHT RECORDINGS The Glorious Gongs Of Hainuwele (Bo'Weavil) cd 17.98
If your thing is rock music (or pop, or rap, or country, or whatever) and you're inclined to make music, well that's probably the genre of music you're going to be making, right? So if someone's super into "world music", and can't get enough Javanese gamelan or Morroccan trance or Indian raga or Tuvan throat singing... well then that someone would probably come up with their own music in that vein, and that might sound a lot like Harappian Night Recordings! Imagine the murky improvs of Thuja or Kemiallisat Ystavat going full tilt into anything goes "ethnological forgery" territory, an experimental exercise in dronological DIY exotica.
The Bo'Weavil label is known for both reissued old time folk and modern day folky sounds from all parts of the globe, every thing from Anne Briggs to Zadik Zecharia. This fits right in, the music of Harappian Night Recordings aka the UK's Dr. Syed Kamran Ali being a one-man synthesis of sounds both East and West, mostly East... with a collection of ethnic instruments from around the world and an equally broad range of musical-cultural influences, HNR generates mysterious, lively soundscapes both rhythmic and droning. There's sixteen tracks here in this disc's approximately 42 minutes, some brief atmospheric interludes, others more fully-developed songs that could be dances and ceremonies of ancient origin. While you might think this was the work of a DJ with a collection of dusty international 78s to sample, apparently this only SOUNDS like a mix of authentic field recordings, instead all of it was composed and performed by HNR's Dr. Ali! (We say apparently 'cause we still suspect that some of this must be sampled.)
He rattles drums and twitters flutes and strums ouds and pumps harmoniums... and occasionally chants and sings as well - the track "The Widow Chang, Lady Pirate" boasting maniacal vocals that wouldn't be out of place on a Sun City Girls album, and in fact we're sure that much of this disc will appeal to SCGs fans, the whole thing coming across as it does like a mashup of music culled from the Sublime Frequencies library! In a similar spirit as the SCGs, this is done with a slightly hallucinatory, gonzo intensity (the Bo'Weavil press release likens HNR's music to "a Cuban guerilla force stepping on Eisenhower's throat, emptying their glorious bladders on his face" among other things). And certainly the warp and warble and distortion inherent in the lo-fi production adds to that sometimes dark atmosphere, though HNR's music is melodic too, often quite catchy, bouncing along ecstatically. Along with the SCG's, we'd recommend this to fans of Siamese Temple Ball (another, possibly, faux-ethnic recording) and the cross-cultural mythmaking of Hungarian composer Laszlo Hortobagyi. But while Hortobagyi invented his own, unknown fake culture, the folk music of which he purported to "document", the HNR's hybrid sounds don't pretend to be from anywhere in particular, making overt if cryptic allusions to many traditions from the far corners of the real world... A quick trip over to Wikipedia clued us in to the meaning of this disc's title, also the name of one of its songs, it comes from a fairly bizarre bit of Indonesian mythology - Hainwele the "Coconut Girl" being a mythical being who had the ability to, ahem, excrete valuables, such items as golden earrings, coral, porcelain dishes, and, indeed, "glorious gongs"! No doubt the other track titles are referencing equally interesting folklore... but even without doing further internet research, your imagination will have much to work with from the sounds and music here alone. Fantastic, in the several senses of the word. But if you would like some visual input, a cinematic analog to the sort of field recording collage that these Harappian Night Recordings resemble, check out the YouTube video for HNR's track "Headless Mule" found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AzLV7zDMtM
MPEG Stream: "Bate Cairo"
MPEG Stream: "Mal De Ojo"
MPEG Stream: "Headless Mule"
MPEG Stream: "The Ire Of Konga Mangali"

HARDAL Nasil? Ne Zaman (Shadoks Music) cd 17.98
What do you think, is it about time for another Turkish psych sensation 'round these parts? Hardal fits right in with Shadoks' previous reissues of Istanbul-based "Anatolian rock" bands we've loved, like Bunalim and Edip Akbayram, even though the date on this is a bit later than those. Hardal (featuring members of Erkin Koray's Underground 4 band) formed in 1976, releasing this, their debut album, in 1980. Maybe a little disco has infiltrated their sound, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Kitschy '70s cop show synths, acid rock guitar solos, and '60s psych-pop catchiness are all also in the mix.
Just listen to the first track, the super groovy, yet poppy "Bir Yagmur Masali" and tell us you're not hooked. It's impossible to resist that groove! They should have added this to the Psych Funk 101 curriculum (that comp we reviewed last list)! Reminds us a bit of South Korea's great San Ul Lim, who were of similar style, and vintage.
Soulful male vocals are contrasted with fuzzed out, funky bass. Whistling synth lines and cinematically wordless female vocals also adorn these songs. Hardal definitely have a typically romantic vibe derived from the traditional folk music of their homeland, but even at its mellowest, some tasty fuzz or badass groove is never that far away.
We don't know what Hardal means, but the album title Nasil? Ne Zaman? apparently translates as How? When? If the question involves getting down to some killer Turkish tuneage, the answer is: this is how, and the time is now!!
And as usual with Shadoks, the cd booklet provides informative liner notes, color photos, and press clippings.
MPEG Stream: "Bir Yagmur Masali"
MPEG Stream: "Unuttum "
MPEG Stream: "Sen Gittin Diye"

HARDAL Nereden Nereye! (Underground Masters) cd 21.00

HARDY, FRANCOISE La Question (Virgin) cd 11.98
Prepare yourself to to melt! This is one of our all time favorite records. Dripping with sensual seduction and a slow burn that always whisks us away, up into the clouds in such a stunning lush and wonderful way. La Question displays a side of Francoise Hardy that is often overlooked. While she is best known for the super fun and catchy ye-ye hits she delivered in the '60s, it's records like La Question (1971) that really show off the enchanting presence and mysterious qualities that truly make her one of the most enigmatic songstresses of all time.
With very stripped down yet haunting arrangements created by the mysterious artist only known as Tuca who also plays some seriously mesmerizing guitar on the record, its of course the breathy warm and ethereal vocals of Hardy that take the songs into another dimension. This is one of those records that truly takes a hold of you from start to finish. Causing goosebumps, hair standing on end, feelings of longing, desire and seduction, all with such stunning class.
La Question is the blueprint for so many of today's warm and woozy and dazed and dreamy music makers. It's a record that foreshadows the sounds of folks like Beach House, El Perro Del Mar, Taken By Trees, Tenniscoats, Air, Sebastien Tellier, Devendra Banhart, Tara Jane O'Neil, American Analog Set, Isobel Campbell, Brightblack Morning Light, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Samara Lubelski. One of the most breathtaking and beautiful records of all time perhaps, and beyond recommended!
MPEG Stream: "La Question"
MPEG Stream: "Le Martien"
MPEG Stream: "Chanson D'o"

HARDY, FRANCOISE The Vogue Years (Camden / BMG) 2cd 13.98
Two discs full to overflowing with fifty immaculate French-pop nuggets by one of our favorite chanteuses of all time, and at a really reasonable price to boot, this one is an absolute no brainer!
Compiling songs Hardy recorded during her years on the Vogue label in France in the 1960s this really shows why there is so much to love and adore about Hardy. The first disc begins with many of her most ye-ye and infectious tunes that you just can't help but feel so classy and sassy while listening to. And as the collection plays on, you see what a nice range of sound Hardy had developed, which would lead her to create her masterpiece, La Question at the onset of the '70s. Taking the influence of what folks like Phil Spector were doing with girl groups in terms of lush, warm and hypnotic production, but with such a singular and undeniably sexy voice that just stands miles ahead of the pack. From songs that make you want to get on a dance floor with a glass of champagne in your hands, to songs that are so perfect for rainy Sunday nights when all you have is time to pass, this is pretty much as perfect a collection of songs as you can get. In fact it was this very collection that made the biggest Hardy fanatics at AQ first fall in love with her, so we're so happy this is finally available for us to list. One of those records we feel safe in recommending to just about anyone who loves music!
MPEG Stream: "Je Pense A Lui"
MPEG Stream: "J'Suis D'Accord"
MPEG Stream: "Le Temps Des Souvenirs"
MPEG Stream: "Et Meme"
MPEG Stream: "Je T'aime"

HARVESTER Hemat (Silence) cd 17.98
Along with the Algarnas Tradgard and International Harvester cds we re-listed last time, we're also super happy to have a couple other Silence label reissues back in stock, after a lengthy absence. This one is another entry in the discography of one of our absolute favorite Swedish psychrock band "families" that began with the group Parson Sound. We've been into this ever since we first found what turned out to be a bootleg cd reish of this rare 1970 LP some years ago, which fortunately was soon followed by legit version on Silence, this one, complete with a bonus track (oddly enough, the title track) and extensive liner notes in English. Here again is a slightly modified version of what we said about this highly recommended album way back on list #120:
Perhaps you read about or bought the Terry Riley-influenced Parson Sound double cd we've raved so much about? Well, Harvester (after releasing another LP under the full name of International Harvester -- reviewed elsewhere on our site) was a future development of the Parson Sound band. And after Harvester, they became the semi-legendary Trad Gras Och Stenar (Trees, Grass and Stones). Though we think the absolute best stuff we've heard from these guys dates from their Parson Sound incarnation, this disc is pretty darn cool too. Hemat ("Homeward") has been described by someone in the know as "mastodon waltz-drone / acid soaked free jam psychedelia." Which is not only a pretty accurate description, but also a cool phrase to quote. The disc starts with a lovely mellow hippy-folk tune that matches the dreamy landscape painting on the album's cover. Then with track two things get heavier and more Parson Sound-like. The mastodon waltz has begun, as flutes trill and Swedish freaks chant. The disc progresses into ethnic-tinged free rock/jazz ("Nepal Boogie") and even an unrecognizably drugged-out downer version of "Everybody (Needs Somebody to Love)". Loose and stoned this disc most certainly is, forty-one minutes of almost-lost music drifting through the haze of time to trip you out today. Recommended -- and get International Harvester and all the other related albums too!!
MPEG Stream: "Nar Lingonen Mognar"
MPEG Stream: "Kristallen Den Fina"

HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A Cervantine (LM Duplication) cd 14.98
Latest disc from Mr. Jeremy Barnes, formerly of legendary indie rockers Neutral Milk Hotel, and a staple of various other Elephant 6 bands, but for the last nearly nine years, the mastermind behind A Hawk And A Hacksaw, his solo project turned proper band, which performs music in the style of American folk music and Eastern European, Turkish and Balkan folk music. Now expanded to an EIGHT(!) piece, not counting various guest musicians, the expanded instrumentation of accordion, bass drum, cymbal, violin, viola, bouzouki, trumpet, flugelhorn, tuba, euphonium, dumbek, riq, guitar, cello, dobro, clarinet, and saxophone, has made the group's sound even more rich and expansive and expressive, from gypsy folk, to wild flamenco, to super intricate and lush klezmer music, Romanian folk music, Mariachi... Barnes and company are voracious, and deftly master whatever music they try their hand at, all woven into an incredibly festive, almost psychedelic, world music brew, which slips from frenetic and energetic and irresistibly danceable, to moody and mournful, to woozy and weary, to propulsive and playful. We had sort of forgotten how great this stuff was, but we can't seem to stop listening to this new one. A new favorite for sure.
Gorgeously packaged in a textured papers, screen printed, origiami style sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "No Rest For The Wicked"
MPEG Stream: "Mana Thelo Enan Andra"

HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A Cervantine (LM Duplication) lp 14.98
Latest disc from Mr. Jeremy Barnes, formerly of legendary indie rockers Neutral Milk Hotel, and a staple of various other Elephant 6 bands, but for the last nearly nine years, the mastermind behind A Hawk And A Hacksaw, his solo project turned proper band, which performs music in the style of American folk music and Eastern European, Turkish and Balkan folk music. Now expanded to an EIGHT(!) piece, not counting various guest musicians, the expanded instrumentation of accordion, bass drum, cymbal, violin, viola, bouzouki, trumpet, flugelhorn, tuba, euphonium, dumbek, riq, guitar, cello, dobro, clarinet, and saxophone, has made the group's sound even more rich and expansive and expressive, from gypsy folk, to wild flamenco, to super intricate and lush klezmer music, Romanian folk music, Mariachi... Barnes and company are voracious, and deftly master whatever music they try their hand at, all woven into an incredibly festive, almost psychedelic, world music brew, which slips from frenetic and energetic and irresistibly danceable, to moody and mournful, to woozy and weary, to propulsive and playful. We had sort of forgotten how great this stuff was, but we can't seem to stop listening to this new one. A new favorite for sure.
Gorgeously packaged in a textured papers, screen printed, origiami style sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "No Rest For The Wicked"
MPEG Stream: "Mana Thelo Enan Andra"

HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A & THE HUN HANGAR ENSEMBLE s/t (Leaf) cd+dvd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
No sense in messing with a sure thing! A Hawk And A Hacksaw's latest release delivers more of their wonderful authentic Balkan folk sounds, but this time we also get the added delight of visual accompaniments. The group's enthusiasm and deep reverence for the music's history and artistry remains true, lively, and vibrant. Sure to please their growing legions of fans and win them a few more in the process.
MPEG Stream: "Kiraly Sirat‡s"
MPEG Stream: "Romanian Hora And Bulgar"

HAYVANLAR ALEMI Guarana Superpower (Sublime Frequencies) cd 17.98
This amazing, previously vinyl only, Sublime Frequencies release, finally available on cd!!!
Ethiopiques meets Torch Of The Mystics? Cambodian pop meets Turkish psych rock? Freaked out surf rock meets Saharan guitar music? Howabout all of the above...?
The very first release on the Sun City Girls' Sublime Frequency label from Istanbul-based instrumental psychedelic surf / space rock band Hayvanlar Alemi, their first proper album, and their first record readily available outside of Turkey.
The thing that makes this Hayvanlar Alemi record work in the context of Sublime Frequencies, is that it borrows from a super varied set of sounds, from all sorts of musics, each track here sounding like it could possibly be from some other SF release, twanged out desert psych, moody Eastern garage pop, fuzzy druggy almost krautrock style drift, a few of the tracks even sound like they could be some Sun City Girls Torch Of The Mystics B side! But somehow these guys make all those different sounds work, this whole record holds together perfectly and flows like a proper album, a super expansive and sonically rich collection of modern psychedelia, beholden to all the various musics that came before.
The sound on Guarana Superpower is definitely exotic, lush, with Eastern melodies, simple hypnotic percussion, long droning tones, looped motorik grooves, plenty of buzz, and jangle, and crunch, rhythms that veer from spare and skeletal to wild and splattery, songs drift from tranquil shimmer to meditative buzz to occasional blasts of full on chaotic freaked out in-the-red psychedelia, but even in the midst of those noisy squalls, the instrumentation is distinctly Eastern, the result some fantastical Eastern psychedelic noise rock. It's during those moments that the Torch Of The Mystics comparisons become even more apt. The record is of course rife with references to traditional Turkish folk music, Turkish classical music, sixties and seventies Turkish psych rock, as well as all the above mentioned NON Turkish sounds and influences, all filtered through a modern avant rock sensibility. There are a few tracks of surfy, bluesy garage rock stomp as well, but again, even those jams are infused with a vibe and energy that is way more Eastern than Western. So good. And such a perfect fit for Sublime Frequencies...
MPEG Stream: "Mega Lambada"
MPEG Stream: "Mavi Sepet"
MPEG Stream: "Karpuzkafa 777"
MPEG Stream: "Guve Diskosu"

HAYVANLAR ALEMI Guarana Superpower (Sublime Frequencies) lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ethiopiques meets Torch Of The Mystics? Cambodian pop meets Turkish psych rock? Freaked out surf rock meets Saharan guitar music? Howabout all of the above...?
The very first release on the Sun City Girls' Sublime Frequency label from Istanbul-based instrumental psychedelic surf / space rock band Hayvanlar Alemi, their first vinyl lp, and their first record readily available outside of Turkey.
The thing that makes this Hayvanlar Alemi record work in the context of Sublime Frequencies, is that it borrows from a super varied set of sounds, from all sorts of musics, each track here sounding like it could possibly be from some other SF release, twanged out desert psych, moody Eastern garage pop, fuzzy druggy almost krautrock style drift, a few of the tracks even sound like they could be some Sun City Girls Torch Of The Mystics B side! But somehow these guys make all those different sounds work, this whole record holds together perfectly and flows like a proper album, a super expansive and sonically rich collection of modern psychedelia, beholden to all the various musics that came before.
The sound on Guarana Superpower is definitely exotic, lush, with Eastern melodies, simple hypnotic percussion, long droning tones, looped motorik grooves, plenty of buzz, and jangle, and crunch, rhythms that veer from spare and skeletal to wild and splattery, songs drift from tranquil shimmer to meditative buzz to occasional blasts of full on chaotic freaked out in-the-red psychedelia, but even in the midst of those noisy squalls, the instrumentation is distinctly Eastern, the result some fantastical Eastern psychedelic noise rock. It's during those moments that the Torch Of The Mystics comparisons become even more apt. The record is of course rife with references to traditional Turkish folk music, Turkish classical music, sixties and seventies Turkish psych rock, as well as all the above mentioned NON Turkish sounds and influences, all filtered through a modern avant rock sensibility. There are a few tracks of surfy, bluesy garage rock stomp as well, but again, even those jams are infused with a vibe and energy that is way more Eastern than Western. So good. And such a perfect fit for Sublime Frequencies...
As always, this is a super limited one time vinyl pressing, nice thick vinyl, housed in a heavy old school style tip-on jacket.

HE 6 Go Go Sound '71 Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (Beatball) cd 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Recently, we reviewed Brazil's Modulo 1000... Before that, Thai Beat A Go Go volume 2. And the Lemmy-goes-to-India sounds of Sam Gopal. And the Juan dela Cruz Band from the Phillipines. And Turkish music galore. And all those incredible Cambodian Rocks comps. Et cetera, et cetera. Yup, we've had a lot of vintage heavy rock and psych reissues from all over the world now, but this is maybe the first time we've gotten our hands on something from Korea (and hopefully not the last -- we'd love to get Sanullim discs too, someday).
Recorded in, yay, 1971, pressed in a ridiculously limited (promotion only) quantity of 300 copies each, and subsequently all but forgotten, these two records by Korean psychedelic groovesters the HE 6 are some gems indeed! With the exception of the closing side-long seventeen minute cover of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (which faithfully does indeed include the obligatory drum solo as per the original version, along with what sounds like a police siren and also an added *flute* solo!) all the tracks on the two albums Go Go Sound '71 vol. 1 and Go Go Sound '71 vol. 2 included here are instrumental jams -- numbered themes with titles like "Theme 2. 4/4 for Guitar" and "Theme 3. Running Human". And even "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is mostly instrumental of course.
Listening to the other tracks on this disc it makes sense that they would choose Iron Butterfly's opus as the sole tune to cover. Like that tune, all of their originals are extended jams led by fuzzed-out electric guitar and Hammond organ. In addition, the aforementioned flute gets a workout too. (Yet another victory for the flute, so often mistakenly perceived as diminutive instrument! But the flute can certainly hold its own in this heavy, groovy, acid-rock band.) And it's crucial to mention that HE 6's rhythm section is darn tight! Indeed, this stuff's funky enough that we're sure they were probably just as much influenced by James Brown's band The JB's as they were by the likes of the Vanilla Fudge and Iron Butterfly. If not so obscure, we're sure this would have been plundered by DJs looking for the swank breaks... who knows, maybe hip hop producers in Korea have done so? So, very much recommended to all you folks into these sorta swinging '60s/'70s sounds -- especially if you dig the Cambodian Rocks and Thai Beat comps!
'Tis an expensive import, but the packaging helps justify the price: a gorgeous heavy-duty mini-LP styled gatefold sleeve, complete with a booklet featuring extensive liner notes (in English!) and photos, plus you even get two colorful HE 6 stickers! Nice.
MPEG Stream: "Theme 1. Introduction Music"
MPEG Stream: "Theme 5. The World of 6/6"

HEARTSCARVED ...And Tomorrow We Escape (Tribunal) cd 15.98
You would never in a million years guess that this band wasn't Swedish. And you would never guess they weren't a real metal band. I mean, they -are- a real metal band, but listening to this record, you imagine long haired Swedes banging their heads with one foot up on the monitor, not short haired hardcore kids from North Carolina flailing in the pit. But this is what happens when you let your kids grow up listening to black metal and metalcore. And if these are the results, who are we to argue! This record rules. This sounds like a more death metal Iron Maiden, or a metalcore In Flames. Super melodic, intertwining dual guitar leads, crazy double-kick drumming, complex and baffling stop-on-a-dime instrumental finesse and raspy black metal style vocals. This record is definitely destined to be one of our favorite 'metal' records of the year!
RealAudio clip: "God Complex"
RealAudio clip: "Subsiding the Floods of Indifference"

HEDZOLEH SOUNDS s/t (Soundway) cd 15.98
One of two great Afrobeat finds this week, unearthed by the awesome Soundway label (see the Sweet Talks review elsewhere on this list too). Hedzoleh Sounds were (and still are!) one of the most original "Afro" bands from the early seventies in Ghana, combining West African highlife with funk and western rock sounds. Famously recruited by jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela ("Grazing In The Grass") as his backing band after a recommendation from Fela Kuti for Maskela's 1973 Afro-jazz rarity "Introducing Hedzoleh Sounds" (which we're hoping will also get a reissue!), this self-titled release from 1972 is even rarer, documenting the band from their beginning singles and their stint as the house band at the Napolean Club. Known later in years as stalwart performers of more traditional sounds and horn-fueled highlife, this self-titled release not heard for over forty years is more remarkable for its lack of the horn section that later defined them. Making it a more lean, stripped down excursion, heavy on swinging funk rhythms and gorgeous sweet vocal harmonies. Killer!
MPEG Stream: "Kaa Ye Oyai"
MPEG Stream: "Hedzoleh!"

HEDZOLEH SOUNDS s/t (Soundway) lp 16.98
One of two great Afrobeat finds this week, unearthed by the awesome Soundway label (see the Sweet Talks review elsewhere on this list too). Hedzoleh Sounds were (and still are!) one of the most original "Afro" bands from the early seventies in Ghana, combining West African highlife with funk and western rock sounds. Famously recruited by jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela ("Grazing In The Grass") as his backing band after a recommendation from Fela Kuti for Maskela's 1973 Afro-jazz rarity "Introducing Hedzoleh Sounds" (which we're hoping will also get a reissue!), this self-titled release from 1972 is even rarer, documenting the band from their beginning singles and their stint as the house band at the Napolean Club. Known later in years as stalwart performers of more traditional sounds and horn-fueled highlife, this self-titled release not heard for over forty years is more remarkable for its lack of the horn section that later defined them. Making it a more lean, stripped down excursion, heavy on swinging funk rhythms and gorgeous sweet vocal harmonies. Killer!
MPEG Stream: "Kaa Ye Oyai"
MPEG Stream: "Hedzoleh!"

HEMMINGSON, MERIT Queen Of Swedish Hammond Folk Groove (Amigo) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wow! The wonderful, wonderful music of organist Merit Hemmingson combines a bunch of stuff we just simply LOVE but never heard quite like this before. The title of this "best of" collection boldly suggests as much to you too, right? Swedish Hammond Folk Groove, yeah!! We hadn't heard of her before we came across this, but now we know she made a handful of records in the '70s that brought together ancestral Swedish folk melodies, jazzy Hammond organ grooving, and some colorful psychedelic moves. Merit's Hammond is at the fore, playing her own swingin', riffin' take on these traditional tunes, but the arrangements also variously incorporate '70s funky wah-wah psych guitars, her lovely, wordless vocals, flutes and bongos and more... It's all so sunshiney and delightful, reminding us of everything from Hansson & Karlsson to Turid to The Free Design to a calmer, mellower version of Aavikko! And of course modern-day Swedish folk organ duo Sagor & Swing.
Merit's music is gentle, soulful, rhythmic -- so nice! It's total "grooving with trolls and flowers in the forest funk". Not your everyday organ jazz that's for sure, though Merit got her start in the '60s playing jazz -- she came over to the New York City to study, taking piano lessons from both Joe Zawinul and Lalo Schifrin and even getting to sit in with Miles Davis's band! But soon she went in a more pop/funk direction, and then became inspired by Scandinavia's rich history of olden folk music to create the sounds heard here.
The twenty tracks on this collection are all from albums originally released between 1971-1977 (Huvva, Trollskog, Bergtagen, Balsam, and Hoven Droven) except for a couple of recently-recorded tracks at the disc's end done in a similar style, featuring as sidemen members of currently happenin' Swedish retro-leaning rock bands (and big Merit fans) Dungen and The Ark! That's right, while obscure for years even in Sweden, she's undergone a bit of a hipster rediscovery lately and in fact this disc (the first time on cd for most of this music) is the prelude to a new album due out this year.
Queen Of Swedish Hammond Folk Groove is a nicely deluxe package, in a slipcovered jewelcase with a thick booklet full of photos, liner notes in both English and Swedish, and Merit's own track-by-track commentary. We had to go to a bit of trouble to import these from Sweden, but it was worth it!
MPEG Stream: "Mandom Mod Och Morske Man"
MPEG Stream: "Brudmarsch Efter Lisme Per"
MPEG Stream: "Setnmarks Slalompolska"

HENRY FIAT'S OPEN SORE The Parallel Universe of (Coldfront) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Besides having an awesomely demented band name (who the hell is Henry Fiat?) Henry Fiat's Open Sore are so smoking hot and so ultra kick ass, it's amazing we're only now discovering them. I was going to describe them as the Hives meet the Mentors, which I still think is pretty apt, although the rest of the AQ staffers hear more straight ahead punk rock a la the Ramones. But if you're into that hypercharged Swedish guitar sound, this will definitely be right up your alley. Dressed in tattered mod suits and heads wrapped in black bandages, they look like the Mummies' scary older brothers. But no retro lo-fi garage rock here. This is fierce and furious, ass kicking 3 chord, bounce up and down punk rock and roll!
MPEG Stream: "Midlife Riot"
MPEG Stream: "Move And Walk"
MPEG Stream: "Proto-geek"

HIDDEN Alexisstar Morphalite (Baphomet) cd 11.98
We love our metal here at aQ. A LOT. But there a two distinct strains that tend to drive us wild. There is of course the ultra precise, super heavy, complex and punishing perfectly crafted metal. Be it black, or thrash, stoner or doom. But then there's its bastard offspring, its deformed sibling, the one kept locked in the cellar, the damaged, demented, completely bizarre, totally unhinged and utterly and beautifully impossibly fucked metal. Total outsider metal. It may be doom or sludge or black metal, but composed and played and recorded with total disregard for anything but the personal vison, no matter how skewed or off kilter. In the past we have worshipped before the likes of Benighted Leams, Urfaust, Striborg, Wold, Rehtaf Ruo, Spektr, Necrofrost, Furze and all of a similarly demented nature. And now we have Hidden. A sort of doom / thrash hybrid, pre-occupied with some impossibly ridiculous science (fiction), the record is called Aleisstar Morphalite, some of the song titles: "Hydrodynamic Physics", "Interplanetary Space Physics And Climatology", "Planets Of Metal", "The Search For Where Life May Have Existed", you get the drift. And their sound is equally as scientifically and musically obtuse. Buzzing downtuned thrash metal, lighting fast riffs buried WAY down in the mix, the gutteral inhuman vocals way UP in the mix, spitting out impossibly complicated lyrics, you can catch a word here and there, 'radiation' gets mentioned a lot, as does the 'universe', 'carbon dioxide' does too, each line containing just a few too many words to fit in the designated space, so it comes out all gargled and jumbled together, a bit like old Slayer actually at least in terms of cadence, the sound though is like nothing you've ever heard, a sort of deathmetalized alien shriek. Then there's the songs, the riffs and the song structures are super convoluted, lots of stops and starts, pauses where there will be no sound but a weird wheezing synthesizer, or some random droning rumble, creepy synths and almost Cradle Of Filth keyboards surface all over the record, sometimes in a thick sheet draped over everything, there are some weird trashcan sounding electronic cymbals that hover in weird spaces when the music sort of hiccups and skips a beat, sometimes just a haunting background, occasionally a black thrash attack will slowly peter out and turn into a strangley gorgeous melancholic doom dirge, but still peppered with haunting piano and all sorts of random sound effects and sonic weirdness, and of course the vocals slithering and shrieking out some strange alien scientific propaganda over the top. But weird and bizzare and damaged and demented are not enough (well, almost), there has to be songs, you know actually songs, riffs and hooks and parts that stick in your head. And well, as impossible as it may seem, this record is full of 'em. Completely and impossibly catchy parts. The first song in fact, "Interferometer", has to be the catchiest damaged-alien-doom-black-thrash-sci-fi song EVER! Even the weird double kick / warbly space synth battle part way through gets stuck in our heads. Holy crap! This record is so completely nuts, but so completely heavy and kick ass. These guys should totally have a crazy metal science show on PBS, where kids learn about gravity and time travel and wormholes, but each lecture is delivered as a sludgy buzzing convoluted blast of demented space metal! In our dreams!
MPEG Stream: "Interferometer"
MPEG Stream: "Hydrodynamic Physics"

HJARNIDAUDI Pain:Noise:March (Paradigms) cd 12.98
Way back in 2002 we listed a record by Norway's Hlidolf, who whipped up (or, er... down) a slow motion swirl of spacey, dark, drifty, deep, and droney doom sludge. Channelling Earth 2, SUNNO))), Lustmord, Klaus Schulze and the like. Obviously it was a huge AQ fave. Unfortunately that release seems to have faded and disappeared into the ether, but thankfully we now have this epic three track disc from Hjarnidaudi, who are the rightful sonic heirs to the space doom drone throne once occupied by Hlidolf (due in no small part to this being the new project of Hlidolf's Vidar Ermesjo). But where Hlidolf was all darkness and doom, winter and wastelands, Hjarnidaudi is white hot light and blinding bursts of fuzz and sparkle, like the impossible birth of a new universe. Sure it's still slow and doomy, but much like the recent Fleshpress III record, this is a doom band moving beyond the confines of pure doom. Huge expansive stretches of majestic slow moving melody, a sort of doom certainly, but instead of murky downtuned gurgling sludge, these doomscapes are constructed from jagged buzzy brittle slabs of crystalline guitars, brief explosive smears of almost ambient fuzz, held together by an impossibly glacial rhythm section. Sunroof! by way of Esoteric, a shoegazer SUNNO))), a WAY less propulsive Jesu, or Skepticism broadcast through the M83 soundsystem. A gloriously thick and rich, warm and shimmering expanse of stretched out buzzing guitars, dreamy melodies, minor key and melancholy, but with a strangely warm embrace. If most sludge-doom-death-drone is like dunking your head in a tarpit, the world a dripping black dirge, Hjarnidaudi is like falling into the Sunn, hot and blinding, the world splintering into a million tiny sparkling pieces.
Limited to 750 copies, packaged in a mini lp style sleeve wrapped in a hand stamped brown paper outer sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "One"
MPEG Stream: "Two"