New Releases - 11/23/18
Hitting The Racks
Here's your weekly rundown of what's hitting the new release racks at Grimey's
Jump to… New Releases Reissues & From The Vaults Soundtracks New on Vinyl
New Releases
City And Colour - Guide Me Back Home CD/3xLP (Dine Alone)
City And Colour, the moniker of singer-songwriter Dallas Green, is undeniably one of the biggest groundswell stories to emerge from Canada. Guide Me Back Home is a 20-track, 3LP live album recorded on a recent Canadian tour where Dallas performed solo, going back to his roots and acoustically reworking favorite songs from throughout his catalogue. The quality of the live recording is exceptional and Dallas' vocal delivery really shines in the intimate live setting in a unique way to the original studio recordings. [Limited orange colored vinyl pressing.]
Hippo Campus - Bambi CD/LP (Grand Jury)
On their sophomore album Bambi, St. Paul, Minnesota-bred band Hippo Campus offer up a self-reflective set of songs that drift into much darker terrain but unfold with a frenetic yet fragile beauty that makes even the most painful moments feel glorious. Partly recorded at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago, Bambi finds Hippo Campus working again with producer BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Low, Francis and the Lights), who handled production on their 2017 full-length debut Landmark. And in sculpting Bambi's distinctly inventive arrangements, Hippo Campus significantly expanded their use of drum machines and synths. Throughout Bambi, Hippo Campus match their relentless self-examination with a joyfully adventurous sonic approach, ultimately transforming the emotional experience of the problems they're exploring. On "Anxious", urgent rhythms and untamed vocal delivery draw an unlikely power from raw vulnerability. [Indie-store exclusive pool blue colored vinyl pressing.]
Jacco Gardner - Somnium CD/LP (Polyvinyl)
Somnium is not necessarily representative of Jacco Gardner's new Lisbon surroundings in an obvious sense but more a depiction and projection of his thoughts and dreams whilst spent walking the streets; which he did whilst thinking about the books he'd been reading and imagining those worlds put to sound. Jacco has been known to create swirling psychedelic pop boosted by his rich, resonate and baroque voice but on Somnium, his vocals are gone and in their place is an equally seamless melodic exploration but an instrumental one with a synthesized sci-fi edge.
Fat Tony - 10,000 Hours CD (Don Giovanni)
Fifth full-length by the Houston-bred rapper.
Planet B - Planet B CD/LP (Ipecac)
Planet B is Justin Pearson (Dead Cross, Retox, The Locust) and Luke Henshaw (Sonido de la Frontera). The duo's music lays somewhere just out of reach of genre, with aesthetics rooted in hip hop, hardcore punk, turntablism, and '70s - '80s horror movie soundtracks. Guests on the album include Kool Keith (Dr. Octagon), Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Head Wound City), Gabe Serbian (The Locust, Head Wound City), Sonny Kay (Year Future, creator of GSL Records), Martin Atkins (PIL, Killing Joke), and Joseph Karam (The Locust).
Laibach - The Sound Of Music CD/LP (Mute)
The genre-breaking Slovenian collective has re-recorded the soundtrack for the beloved Julie Andrews film, The Sound Of Music. In 2015, Laibach famously performed much of The Sound Of Music's soundtrack in Pyongyang, North Korea. Included on this album are Laibach's industrial-leaning takes on favorites such as the musical's title track, "Favorite Things" and "Do-Re-Mi". Also featured are the band's renditions of "Arirang", the unofficial national anthem of Korea, and "The Sound Of Gayageum", a drum-heavy composition highlighting the traditional Korean instrument.
Unearth - Extinction(s) CD/LP (Century Media)
After an awe-inspiring 20 years of blazing trails and dominating stages, Unearth is now institutionalized as a relentless force in heavy metal, standing the test of time with consistently triumphant creative output, tireless road warrior resilience, blue collar style workmanship and a resolute determination to deliver the goods on their seventh album, Extinction(s).
Soundtracks
Soundtrack - True Stories, A Film By David Byrne: The Complete SoundtrackCD/LP (Nonesuch)
In conjunction with The Criterion Collection's special-edition DVD and Blu-ray release of David Byrne's 1986 film True Stories, Nonesuch and Todomundo Records release a comprehensive soundtrack, collected for the first time in one package and in film sequence. Includes 23 songs including one previously unreleased version of Talking Heads' "Dream Operator", from the film, with Annie McEnroe on lead vocals; three songs from the film that have previously been released only on the Talking Heads sets Dual Brick or Bonus Rarities & Outtakes; five songs from the companion 1986 Talking Heads studio album True Stories; and fourteen songs from the 1986 film soundtrack album Sounds From True Stories: Music For Activities Freaks performed by a wide range of artists from Kronos Quartet to Meredith Monk to Pops Staples to John Goodman.
Reissues & From The Archives
Bauhaus - The Bela Session CD/LP (Leaving)
The Bela Session is the first official reissue of "Bela Lugosi's Dead" on vinyl, and the first release of the complete January 26th, 1979 recording session: five tracks total, three previously unreleased. Late 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the pioneering goth rock band.
Lone Justice - The Western Tapes, 1983 CDEP/12" (Omnivore)
Musician and producer Marvin Etzioni first saw Maria McKee and Ryan Hedgecock in a club in 1982, playing George Jones and Hank Williams covers. He convinced them they needed original material. After working and writing, Lone Justice added Dave Harrington (bass) and Don Willens (drums), the band worked up material with Etzioni and cut five of the six tracks at the famed Record Plant. An earlier session provides the sixth track. The Western Tapes, 1983 exhibits the genesis of this highly-influential band. While the original demo version of "Drugstore Cowboy" has appeared on various compilations, the remainder of the other tracks from the sessions have remained in the can. Two of the tracks appear in their earliest demo form and wound up landing on the classic 1985 debut Lone Justice, "Working Late" and "Don't Toss Us Away" (written by Maria's half-brother, Bryan MacLean of the classic band, Love) which would eventually become a country hit for Patty Loveless.
Calexico - The Black Light [Reissue/1999] 2xCD/2xLP (Quarterstick)
An album about crossing physical and metaphorical borders that has never been timelier: Calexico's classic album The Black Light turns 20 in 2019. This celebratory anniversary edition includes all new artwork by Victor Gastelum, extensive liner notes, and 11 bonus tracks. What was surprising about The Black Light (and what set its architects apart from their indie rock peers) was the album's unusual willingness to wade into the rapids of American and Mexican culture, fully immersing itself midstream. From the outset, with "Gypsy's Curse", the record combines guitar twang and flamenco flourishes; and by its end, almost an hour later, it's contrived a skillful and instinctive union of smoky bar room jazz, arthouse indie rock, and compelling mariachi brass in "Frontera". [Limited clear vinyl pressing.]
Jane Weaver - The Silver Globe [Reissue/2014] CD/LP (Fire)
Featuring tracks co-produced by David Holmes, guest appearances by Australian vintage space-rockers Cybotron, a recycled chunk of a Hawkwind track, an intricate Damon Gough guitar solo, some Suzanne Ciani waves and post production, plus remix flourishes by Andy Votel, The Silver Globe is a shiny beautifully polished gem. "An album that melds cult cornerstones into a lean and thrillingly addictive slice of unearthly pop," trumpeted The Guardian.
Chic - The Chic Organization 1977-1979 5xCD/5xLP+12" (Atlantic)
This set includes Chic's first three albums - Chic (1978), C'est Chic (1978) and Risqué (1978) -as well as 7" and 12" edits, all newly remastered from the original Atlantic stereo tapes by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. As executive producer, Nile Rodgers personally oversaw the remastering process with the approval of Bernard Edwards' estate. Exclusive to the vinyl version is an exact reproduction of Chic's first single, a 12" promo for "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yosah, Yosah)" that Buddah Records released in 1977 prior to the band signing to Atlantic. [Vinyl is available for special order]
Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves - Roll With You [Reissue/2008] CD (Yep Roc)
Tenth anniversary reissue of this vital, gospel-tinged mix of sweaty, up-tempo numbers and aching, lovelorn ballads that connect instantly thanks to the passion of Eli Paperboy Reed and his former band, The True Loves. Compilations, Best Of's & Sundry Collections...
Various Artists - Venezuela 70 Vol.2 - Cosmic Visions Of A Latin American Earth: Venezuelan Rock In The 1970s & Beyond CD/2xLP (Soul Jazz)
Another hot-wired collection of the most forward-thinking rock music to emerge from Venezuela during the 1970s. Styles as far-flung as disco, prog, Latin jazz, psych-rock and more are all bent into innovative new shapes across these eighteen tracks.
Cattle Decapitation - Medium Rarities CD/LP (Metal Blade)
New rarities collection from the San Diego grindcore/death metal band. Featuring six previously unreleased pre-Human Jerky (1999) demos with front-man Travis Ryan on guitar (while also handling vocal duties), plus the long-sought-after To Serve Man (2002) bonus track, "Rotting Children For Remote Viewing" - in addition to other rarities (including the six songs from 2005's split EP with Caninus) - this compilation spans the band's 22-year long career. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]
New on Vinyl
Pistol Annies - Interstate Gospel LP (RCA)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Country supertrio Pistol Annies - featuring Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley - return with their third album. Interstate Gospel showcases the Grammy-nominated group's stunning harmonies, encompassing celebratory anthems, classic country storytelling and vibey swagger.
Songs: Ohia - Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions 2xLP (Secretly Canadian)
Molina's 2000 album expanded with a second LP of never-before-heard recordings from the album sessions plus a 16-page book and ephemera. The Lioness is the first Jason Molina project to fully turn away from the battlefield folk and deconstructed Americana of earlier Songs: Ohia recordings. At the dawn of the 21st century, the album felt modern. It aligned Molina with a new set of peers - Low, Gastr del Sol, Red House Painters and, most importantly, the influential Scottish band Arab Strap, whose producer and members were crucial in the creation of The Lioness. [Limited colored vinyl pressing.]
Roy Orbison - Unchained Melodies: Roy Orbison & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 2xLP (Sony Legacy)
Released last week on CD - now available on vinyl. The follow-up to A Love So Beautiful features Roy Orbison vocal performances with brand-new orchestral arrangements by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Additional accompaniment from Roy's three sons and backing vocals from their wives and children.
Luna - Lunafied 2xLP (Run Out Groove)
This brand-new Run Out Groove collection includes all of Luna's rare and out of print Elektra-era cover songs - many unreleased on vinyl - on one full length release. Sourced from the original masters with lacquers cut at Sam Phillips Recording Studio, this double-LP set is pressed on 180gm colored vinyl housed in a numbered gatefold tip-on Stoughton jacket.
Ween - Live In Toronto Canada [Reissue/2001] LP (Schnitzel)
Limited 180gm green vinyl LP pressing. Live In Toronto Canada, released in 2001, is the second live album by Ween, released on their own Chocodog label. It was recorded during the now legendary tour with Bobby Ogdin and the Shit Creek Boys on October 23, 1996, at the Phoenix Theatre in Toronto, Ontario. The setlist is divided evenly between 12 Golden Country Greats tunes and fan favorites.
Oneohtrix Point Never - Love In The Time Of Lexapro 12" (Warp)
OPN's second post-Age Of EP features all new and unreleased music including two brand new tracks - "Love In The Time Of Lexapro" and "Thank God I'm a Country Girl" - and two very different takes on Age Of album cuts. The first is a rework of "Last Known Image Of A Song" by noted OPN fan and collaborator, Ryuichi Sakamoto. The second is a cover of the standout vocal track Babylon by indie darling (Sandy) Alex G who's subdued take on the track serves to highlight the lyricism and craftsmanship of the original.
Morrissey - Back On The Chain Gang b/w I Didn't Know What To Do (Live) 7" (BMG Rights Management)
Morrissey presents a cover of "Back On The Chain Gang", originally written by Chrissie Hynde and released by The Pretenders in 1982.
Bill Frisell - Nashville LP (Run Out Groove) Limited 180gm colored vinyl LP pressing housed in a gatefold sleeve. In 1997, Bill Frisell released his first-ever album to be recorded in Nashville. Featuring members of Allison Krauss' Union Station band - mandolin player Adam Steffey and banjo player Ron Block - the project also includes her brother and Lyle Lovett's bass player Viktor Krauss, dobro great Jerry Douglas, vocalist Robin Holcomb and Pat Bergeson on harmonica. Captured at Sound Emporium between 1995-1996 with producer Wayne Horvitz, although the majority of the album is filled with Frisell-penned tunes, he does offer up covers.
Dead Can Dance - Dionysus 2xLP+CD (PIAS America)
Indie-exclusive deluxe edition features heavyweight purple colored vinyl, CD and a 16-page 12" x 12" hardback picture book with padded cover. Dead Can Dance's new album took shape as Brendan Perry became fascinated by long established spring and harvest festivals that had their origins in Dionysian religious practices throughout Europe. Dionysus brings to the fore the rites and rituals that today continue to be informed by the Greek god. The album's seven movements, in the form of an oratorio, represent different facets of the Dionysus myth and his cult. As with the rest of the Dead Can Dance catalog, rhythms inspired by world traditions play a key role, with tracks seeming less like songs and more like fragments of a cohesive whole. Perry blends all of the album's elements together using field recordings and chanting, including a goatherd in Switzerland, beehives from New Zealand, and bird calls from Mexico and Brazil. Perry uses this not only to invoke the album's atmosphere and symbolic references but also to demonstrate how music can be found everywhere.
Vessel - Queen of Golden Dogs LP (Tri Angle) The world of Queen Of Golden Dogs is saturated with color; oscillating between grief, bombast and fierce joy, this is music shot through with both sincerity and irreverence. Whilst traces of his sonic signature remain, there is much changed since Vessel's second album, Punish, Honey. An infatuation with chamber music brought about in collaboration with his violinist lover, and a voice given by singer Olivia Chaney leave strong impressions, providing landmarks in a world that is essentially about the joys of difference. Limited orange colored vinyl LP pressing.
Ry Cooder & Manuel Galbán - Mambo Sinuendo [Reissue/2003] 2xLP (Nonesuch)
Originally released in 2003, Mambo Sinuendo, the acclaimed album from Ry Cooder and former Buena Vista Social Club member Manuel Galbán, has been out of print on vinyl since its original release. The double album has been remastered and comes in a gatefold with an etching on the D side. The music of Mambo Sinuendo captures a Cuban style of music made popular by Galbán, a guitar based uplifting mixture of jazz and pop. The music has an almost retro feel recalling the "lounge" artists of the '50s and '60s with a very distinct Cuban flair and Ry Cooder's unmistakable guitar playing. Dan + Shay -
Dan + Shay - Dan + Shay LP (Warner Nashville)
Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney - known collectively as Dan + Shay - have established themselves as one of country music's most promising duos. With pristine vocals and a knack for writing clever yet relatable songs about looking for, finding and losing love, Dan + Shay bring a youthful sense of energy to country music.
Ace Of Cups - Ace Of Cups LP+MP3 (High Moon)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Ace Of Cups (1967-1972) may not have been the first all-women rock and roll band, but they were the one that mattered within that bizarre wrinkle in time that constituted late 1960s San Francisco. Converging from a diverse set of backgrounds in the Haight-Ashbury just before the Summer of Love, these young women would constitute an independently-driven, uniquely-inspired organization, equally capable of feather-light poetry, funkier soul and further-out freakery than most of their more celebrated male compatriots within the psychedelic ballrooms. Yet despite the avowed interest of the industry and obvious hometown support, the original Ace Of Cups never got to make a record until recently.
Girls Against Boys - Nineties Vs. Eighties [Reissue/1990] LP (Drastic Plastic)
This 1990 debut EP was named Nineties Vs. Eighties because the six songs came from two separate sessions. The EP's first songs were recorded in the 90's by Girls Against Boys' official lineup, while the last three songs were recorded in the late 80's when Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty played in the band. Nineties Vs. Eighties is a rare glimpse into the band's prescient beginnings. Girls Against Boys is an indie rock/post-hardcore band, formed in Washington, D.C. in 1988 and currently based in New York City.
Kev Brown - Minneapolis Joints LP (KB)
Landover, Maryland's Kev Brown continues his shockwave of new music with his fourth vinyl release of 2018. This album sees Kev Brown leaving the east coast to sample the sights and sounds in the Midwest, specifically Minneapolis, Minnesota. Aptly titled, Minneapolis Joints, it is 100% instrumental and proves to be a surprising yet adventurous direction in his ongoing series.
Florentino - Contrabando 12" (Mixpak)
Heard in his DJ sets, his NTS radio show, and in the hands of tastemaker DJs from Bogota to Birmingham, now four of Florentino's most sought after club bootlegs are being released to the world. Contrabando takes a series of modern dancefloor classics and blends them with Florentino's signature mutant reggaeton. Iconic samples collide with double-time dembows, twisted vocal samples, fluttering synths, and heavyweight sub bass.
Tenacious D - Post-Apocalypto 2xLP (Columbia)
Picture disc pressing. Post-Apocalypto is an original, six-part animated video series from the minds of rock duo Tenacious D, comprised of Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Each frame of every episode was hand-drawn by Jack himself, with every character voiced by Black and Gass, and can be watched via Tenacious D's YouTube page. True to the title, Post-Apocalypto finds Tenacious D thrust into a world of complete and utter destruction following the drop of an atomic bomb. Surviving the attack in classic cinematic fashion (a good old imperishable 1950's refrigerator), the duo quickly learns that new forms of evil have spawned from the blast. One thing becomes apparent - for humanity to prevail, Tenacious D must save the world. All six episodes feature new Tenacious D songs, culminating in this new 21-track album of the same name.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Christmas Attic [Reissue/1998] 2xLP (Atlantic)
The second installment in The Christmas Trilogy, 1998's The Christmas Attic tells the story of a little girl who spends a night in an attic filled with yuletide reveries, while guitar solos and choral vocals soar over a rock orchestral backing across 16 tracks.
New Kids On The Block - Merry, Merry Christmas [Reissue/1989] LP (Real Gone Music)
Green colored vinyl pressing. When Merry, Merry Christmas came out in 1989, New Kids On The Block were so huge that a spoken-word album featuring them reciting "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" probably would have gone platinum. But to the credit of the 'Boys and their producer Maurice Starr, they didn't turn in a mere tree ornament with Merry, Merry Christmas; instead, they put together a completely charming entry in the venerable pop music tradition of Christmas music albums (and it went double platinum).
Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time [Reissue/1999] LP+MP3 (Sony Legacy)
Limited picture disc vinyl LP pressing.
Grand Funk Railroad - Mark, Don & Mel 1969-71 [Reissue/1972] LP (Friday Music) 180gm audiophile vinyl LP pressing. Grand Funk Railroad (Mark Farner, Don Brewer and Mel Schacher) broke out big in the late sixties with a huge rock sound that emulated the hard working sounds of the town they grew up in, forever making Flint, Michigan a familiar name to millions.
Airbourne - Runnin' Wild [Reissue/2007] LP (Nettwerk) First-time domestic vinyl pressing. There have been hell-raising rock 'n' roll bands over the years, but acclaimed Australian rockers Airbourne have taken the good-times, bad-boys, party-animal strut to a new level, crafting underdog-championing anthems with reckless abandon. Formed in the small town of Warrnambool on the south-western coast of Victoria, Airbourne announced their arrival with 2007's Runnin' Wild. Limited translucent red.
Alastor - Slave To The Grave 2xLP (Riding Easy)
Recently released on CD - now available on vinyl. Alastor hearken to the days when heavy rock was the music of the rebel, the occult adherent and lurker in the shadows, not hipster bros. Theirs is the doom sound for those who discovered it on the edge of town, in the cold rain, perhaps, as an escape from the squares who'll never understand. Drenched in heavy, distorted darkness and steeped in occult horror that will make your skin crawl and ears cry sweet tears of blood, Slave To The Grave pulls no punches in the Swedish band's unabashedly bleak themes.
Oren Ambarchi & Jim O'Rourke - Hence, with special guest U-Zhaan LP (Editions Mego)
Building on the refined combination of electronics and acoustic instrumentation found on the previous two collaborative releases from Ambarchi and O'Rourke, Hence presents two side-long pieces combining synthesizers, heavily effected guitar tones, and tabla rhythms played by special guest Uzhaan. Combining influences from post-minimalism, the pioneers of live electronics, and eastern music into a unique sound world, Hence is a seductive work from two singular sensibilities in contemporary music, crafting atmospheres both comforting and subtly strange, as the constantly shifting dynamics and changes of focus refuse to allow the music to settle into any one moment for too long or to build in too linear a fashion.
Richard Pinhas - Chronolyse LP (Bureau B)
Originally released in 1978. The second solo album from Richard Pinhas of space rock band Heldon. Dedicated "to all S.F. freaks", Chronolyse takes its name from a work by the science fiction writer Michel Jeury. At the time of Chronolyse's gestation, Pinhas had been listening to a lot of classical music, such as Bach and Wagner, as well as the new wave of American minimalist composers, Philip Glass in particular, and continued to draw from Robert Fripp, who inspired had prime impact on Heldon's mix of spiralling space-rock guitar and analog electronics. This vital release bridges the gap between Heldon's run of albums and Pinhas' less constrained, more synth-based work.
Richard Pinhas - East West LP (Bureau B)
Originally issued in 1980. The fourth solo album by the French spacerock mastermind, East West was his first and only album to be released by a major label (CBS), which gave him the tools for more refined production and found him producing more concise tracks. Some synth-centric pieces resemble siblings to the groundbreaking work of Kraftwerk, while others fuse synthesizer with Pinhas' talents as a meditative and expressive guitarist to evoke Eno or Tangerine Dream, while also anticipating much later ambient practitioners like Emeralds. East West hardly represents Pinhas' shift from abstract composer to pop artist but offers a sublime showcase for the diversity of Pinhas' powers, all delivered in handy bite-sized chunks.
Emanuele Errante - The Evanescence of a Thousand Colors LP (Karaoke Kalk)
Drawing from both electronic and acoustic sources, Errante's compositions paint impressionistic vignettes with sonic intensity. The title of his fourth album was inspired by a TEDx Talk by the American scientist Pratyusha Pilla on the subject of colorism, i.e. discrimination based solely on skin tone. "I wanted to say something about the shameful racist regurgitation that we are experiencing in almost all the countries that claim to be the champions of civilization." Errante's music feeds on gentle guitar sounds, classical instrumentation, field recordings, and electronic elements that range from rhythmic ambient to granular noise. The eight tracks at times recall the early works of Oval and Fennesz or even Aphex Twin while showcasing the Italian's trademark approach to electroacoustic minimalism.
Peter Brotzmann / Heather Leigh - Sparrow Nights LP (Trost)
The first studio album from the furious duo of pedal steel player Heather Leigh and saxophone legend Peter Brötzmann. Their collaboration has quickly gained a well-earned reputation for their cutting-edge music and frenetic but sensuous playing. A series of emotionally rich and boldly elucidated tonal and timbral exchanges played like compositions on pedal steel and reeds, the tracks are cold-forged minimalist blues motifs dragged from instrumental laments. Here as a studio duo they play a new-old blues for times of complexity, noise and chaos, continuing to redefine and re-sound possibilities for improvised music.
Rattle - Sequence LP (Upset the Rhythm)
Rattle is an ongoing musical project concerned with experiments in rhythm, meter and tension. Katharine Eira Brown and Theresa Wrigley make up the duo from Nottingham, who with just drums and occasional vocals weave an expanse of percussive vortices. The drum beats phase and sidestep, they trade accents and overlap, providing a suitably alive terrain for the vocals to explore similar tendencies of pattern. Sequence is composed of four tracks, each clocking in around 10 minutes or over and focused squarely on a deeper resonance with the creative act, illustrative of how ideas build from scratch, of how music can grow out of repetition.
Various Artists - Living Is Hard: West African Music in Britan, 1927-1929 2LP (Honest Jon's Records)
This volume draws on some of the earliest recordings in the EMI Hayes Archive to present the music of the West African underground of 1920s Britain, recorded at Hayes and released on the Zonophone label (which exported nearly all the records to West Africa). You can hear Caribbean influences here, the promise of highlife there, but Living Is Hard mostly disavows fusion and assimilation. And by contrast with antecedents in the history of black music in Britain -- minstrelsy and spirituals, for example, ragtime and jazz -- these recordings are unhitched from the protocols of a white listenership. These are startling, trenchant, elemental roots -- carrying troubled news home, along with signs of the new African nationalism -- and an enthralling glimpse of other lives, another time.
Various Artists - Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop from Europe 1980-1991 2CD (Music from Memory)
Now available on CD. Drawing material from cult experimental artists alongside one-off independent musical projects rescued from the fringes, 'Uneven Paths' focuses on a selection of tracks that go beyond the confines of mainstream pop music and also transcend expectations of much of the 'experimental' music of the time. This is music with one foot in the avant-garde and another foot firmly rooted within the sensibilities of pop; where jazz musicians detour into synth-pop, punk bands break into boogie jams, and student doctors jam out on odd melodies with synthesizers and drum machines during their night shifts.
Various Artists - Antilles Mechant Bateau: Deep Biguines & Gwo Ka From 60s French West Indies CD/LP (Born Bad Records)
A compilation of percussion-based music from Guadeloupe, in which musicians incorporate the ka drum as a way of asserting their creolized identity. As in the United States, blues and ka music fought the same battle against centuries of oppression, of negation, before finding the path to possible redemption. Jazz instills an emancipating energy, with infernal cadences borrowing from the Latin rhythms of neighboring islands, to beguines with percussion-spiced tempos, to more laid-back, but dark, ballads, this compilation takes the listener back to the early hours of a movement of rebirth synonymous with recognition, a rejuvenation in which all the music of the Black Atlantic diaspora naturally intertwine.
Various Artists - Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris LP (Dust-to-Digital)
Voices of Mississippi encapsulates the life's work of William Ferris, an audio recordist, filmmaker, folklorist, and teacher with an unwavering commitment to establish and to expand the study of the American South. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Ferris toured his home state of Mississippi, documenting the voices of African Americans as they spoke about and performed the diverse musical traditions that form the roots of the blues. This LP features blues and gospel field recordings made by Ferris between 1966 and 1974; all tracks are available on vinyl for the very first time.