Tuesday, October 16, 2007

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Strange, unusual, wonderful and beautiful music...

OST The Wicker Man CD
*** "Music and songs by Paul Giovanni. First ever release of the stereo masters of all the songs from this cult British Horror Film. The original stereo masters that were prepared for a US album release in 1977 were thought lost but have now been discovered." Deluxe US version with a 20-booklet of elaborate liner notes and photos.

V/A Brazil 70 -- After Tropicalia 2xLP/CD
*** On SOUL JAZZ. Brazil 70 follows Brazilian music in the 1970s in the aftermath of Tropicalia and as the country's dictatorship entered its most oppressive phase. Musicians and artists from the Tropicalia period of the late-60s such as Gilberto Gil, Rita Lee (Os Mutantes lead-singer) and Gal Costa entered a new phase mixing rock, funk, samba and soul alongside a wealth of like-minded new artists such as Novos Baianos, Raul Seixas, Nelson Angelo and Joyce and more."

V/A Guitars of the Golden Triangle: Folk and Pop Music... CD
*** "Never before presented outside a tiny minority of the Burmese community, this unbelievable collection of garage and psychedelic rock, raw folk-blues ballads, and country-western styled music is a product of Shan and Pa'o musicians hailing from the early 1970s."

V/A The Great Lakes Sound: Techno from the I94/I104 Corridor 2xCD
*** "What you hold in your hands is from the next wave of electronic musicians from the Great Lakes area of the American Midwest -- the cradle of house music and techno. On the path cut by Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance, Richie Hawtin, DJ T-1000, Mike Dearborn and Green Velvet, Thee Madkatt Courtship and DJ Skull, the artists on this compilation are working their gear to keep the heavy grooves and the driving beats flowing."

V/A The In-Kraut: Hip Shaking Grooves Made in Germany 1966-1974 CD
*** "Twenty handpicked soul, beat, now sound, mod and soundtrack gems from Germany -- all recorded between 1966 and 1974. Among them many Kraut-pleasin' obscurities and long-forgotten nuggets that appear now for the very first time on CD."

V/A The In-Kraut Vol. 2 CD
*** "Once again we take a deep trip into the funky musical spheres of 1960s and 1970s Germany -- an undiscovered universe full of Hammond-heavy grooves, tight big band arrangements and fuzz guitar enhanced dancefloor nuggets. Dip into a motherlode of 20 rare soul, beat, now sound, mod and soundtrack gems -- most of them appearing for the first time on CD."

V/A Prog Is Not a Four Letter Word CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Forget such flamboyant cover stars such as Genesis, Yes and ELP, what about the unintentionally progressive musicians from the far reaches of the globe who were forced to create their own brand of psychedelic rock in a country shielded from the influence of the western world? Even though most of the 15 tracks on this compilation were recorded over 30 years ago they still, individually embody a wide range of challenging progressive musical ideas which are as relevant today as they were when the vinyl first came off the press in each of their scattered countries of origin." Artists: Picchio dal Pozzo, Visitors, Baris Manco, Phillipe Besombes Drugi Nacin, Bran, Breakout, Martin Kratochvil, San Ul Lim, Egg, 3 Hurel, Illes, Jean Claude Vannier, Embryo, Czerwone Gitary, Jazz Q.

BABY GRANDMOTHERS Baby Grandmothers CD
*** "Baby Grandmothers were a short-lived Swedish band, but one of the most prolific and unique psychedelic, modal, experimental power-trios to emerge out of the Scandinavian psychedelic underground scene in 1967."

BEN, JORGE Força Bruta CD
*** "First time on CD in the U.S.! A groundbreaking album from the young Jorge Ben -- one of Brazil's most soulful singers ever -- heard here at a pivotal point in his career. Força Bruta is a record that forever transformed Brazilian music with its unique blend of samba and soul -- and it features some tremendous rhythm work from Trio Mocoto -- who bring in a wide variety of percussion techniques to make the whole thing groove. There's an earthy, laid-back feel to the whole set -- one that makes the album feel like a spontaneous expression of genius, even at the few points when larger orchestrations slide into the mix. The album is easily one of Jorge Ben's greatest!"

LUOMO Paper Tigers CD
*** Vladislav Delay is finally back as Luomo. Paper Tigers is brilliantly lush and expansive dance music, and it is here to stay. As the trends of electronic music shift like Saharan sands, there are a few releases which stand as classics. For Luomo, House music is an aquatic experience, vocals are edited, beats are environments and atmosphere extends outward past the solar system and inwards towards the ear canal, until the two meet at your feet.

SECOND HAND Reality CD
*** "An acknowledged landmark of progressive acid rock, this 1968 classic combines top-notch songwriting with vicious guitar, swathes of mellotron and dense arrangements, to unique and unsettling effect. Late-period UK psychedelia with weird strings, flute melodies other synthie orchestral moments."

SOUNDMURDERER + SK1 Rewind CD
*** "Compilation of some of the best tracks from the Detroit jungle label Rewind by Soundmurderer (aka Todd Osborn) and SK-1 (aka Tadd Mullinix). Rewind are leaders of a wave of American junglists obsessed with the development of the original ruffneck ragga and frenetic breakbeat sound."

STUDIO West Coast 2xLP/CD
*** "This is the first full-length album by Studio, finally given a full-fledged release after a limited release disappeared from the racks last year. West Coast will appeal to fans of the new slo-mo Italo disco and is the missing link between The Cure and Lindstrøm touching on Can, Neu, Happy Mondays and The Smiths in their creation of an Afrobeat-dub-disco-indie-pop adventure."

TRENTEMØLLER The Last Resort CD
*** This is Danish producer Anders Trentemøller 's debut full-length. The 13 instrumental tracks together form a wordless musical story, almost like the soundtrack to a movie. It manages to capture a whole range of emotions in subtle melodic miniatures, dreamy ambiences, dusty beats, deep dub-tracks and driving groove-excursions. Although it's definitely an electronic album, it also incorporates live drums, guitars and other acoustic instruments like celesta, glockenspiel, melodica and even DJ scratching to create a more organic feel."