Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield Vinyl 329 Items

Emotionally, crafted by Brainislave Zivkovic and Andre Tschaskowski in 1986 for Coloursound, is arguably the most beautiful library album ever produced. A start-to-finish masterpiece of powerfully melodic music for reflection and introspection. It is, indeed, deeply emotional.

Branislave Zivkovic handles the majority of Side A. Opener "Morning Light" evokes exactly that feeling, with a gorgeous and plaintive acoustic guitar solo combining with alto flute to stunning effect. Its immediate counterpoint, "Sundown", in no less arresting but brings with it an after-dark drama of almost Lynchian proportions, again drawing upon guitar and flute but with a slightly more melancholic, even sinister edge, also calling to mind Ry Cooder's score for Paris, Texas. It truly captivates when the strings arrive. Remarkable.

The reflective cello solo with swelling strings at the heart of "Pastoral Walk 1" ensure this track is aptly titled, with parts 2 and 3 adding more agitation - via keys and percussive elements - to great effect. "In The Garden 1" presents an elegiac cello solo whilst its second part elevates the romance. The four-part "Soft Thoughts" suite invites further introspection via reflective alto flute and guitar. Fans of The Durutti Column will need to seek this.

Andre Tschaskowski enters proceedings with three tracks at the end of the Side A. All of them aces in the pack. "Grief", whilst sorrowful, uplifts in its second half through beautiful keys. Equally hopeful are the two-part "Personal Mood" sketches, both dreamy exercises in optimistic ambience.

Tschaskowski controls the entirety of Side B. "Woodland Mood", with its pastoral flute and cor anglais and "Reminiscence", with its classical, emotional strings, both beguile. The piano and strings-heavy "Sentimental View" suite is one of the most beautiful, atmospheric things you will ever hear, particularly its second part. "Moonset 1" with it's wonderful Joe Pass-esque guitar is tense yet easy, the beauty elevated further with the introduction of strings and horns. The more restrained "Moonset 2" is pared back to its divine, sweeping essence and should surely have been sampled by now. To close out an album of almost impossible refinement, the brief 2-part "Emotional Tension" salvo brings both increased stress before resolving itself and the LP with a piano motif and atmosphere of serenity. Blessed relief.

As David Hollander, in Unusual Sounds: The Hidden History of Library Music, states, Coloursound was "founded in 1979 by composer, music lawyer, and vibraphonist Gunter Greffenius. A Munich-based library with a reputation for releasing innovative and ambitious music, it catered largely to the market for experimental sounds, its first release was 1980’s Biomechanoid, an abstract synthesizer excursion by Joel Vandroogenbroeck, of the pioneering kosmische band Brainticket. The record — complete with imposing, anonymous title and unearthly H.R. Giger cover art — set the tone for the label’s progressive leanings. The label’s catalogue stands as a tribute to the unfettered creative license that libraries were able to provide to forward-thinking musicians who, frustrated by the whims and constraints of the commercial scene, found complete freedom in the world of production music."

As with all our library music re-issues, the audio for Emotionally comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. Richard Robinson has brought the original Coloursound sleeve back to life in all its metallic silver glory.

From the pumping heart of The Magnetic System comes the “dirtiest” Da-Da-dancefloor
anti-jams with this lost 1979 blueprint of Italian conceptual cosmic disco played by the
cream of the Goblin studio band. Ultra rare and unscrubbed, Finders Keepers finally snip the
trip from the cash machine to the trash machine. Pay dirt just got dirtier.
Carving its own grubby niche as an early prototype of cosmic disco cum Italo space funk
whilst simultaneously harbouring Dada hat stand satire with a junkshop glam aesthetic this
ecological illogical poplitical crab cabaret clearly broke the mould before way before the jelly
had set.
Fans of “other” obtuse outernational agit-camp might find a fantasy fusion between France’s
J. P. Massiera and Sweden’s enviroMENTAL marvel Kaptain Zoom while trying to unravel the
Madfilth tangle - but rest assured there were method men behind this madness and a portal
to Italian funk royalty still festers at the bottom of the psych rap scrapheap.
Originally drip fed out of Cesare Andrea Bixio’s Cinevox stable as one of a tight grip of nonsoundtrack
LPs, made to test the label’s commercial potential, Madfilth would follow the
band Goblin (and their non-cinematic Roller) as well as the hens’ teeth eponymous long
player by the group The Motowns in what was perhaps the last-ditch attempt at custom
built popsploitation - combining the skills of overqualified composers with undercooked
conceptual mind farts! Naturally, after almost 40 years in the barrel, this micro-brewed
oddity finally quenches the acquired taste of a new breed of shambolic psychotropic guzzlers
proving that 1979 was obviously good year for fool’s gold. The Madfilth medicine has finally
come to cure your psychic ills so open wide and don’t bite the spoon.
As both doctors and diggers will agree, always read the label. It is beneath the flamboyant
rhythm rants and vari-speed osric slop of alt-comedic sarcy-satirist Alberto Macaro (a genetic
beneficiary of a vaudevillian comic bloodline) that we find The Magnetic System maestros
Franco Bixio and Vince Tempera as the sonic driving force behind this unmarked treasure
trove of B-musical diamanté discoids. It will also come as little surprise that Cinevox/Dario
Argento favourites Goblin were not too distant from the whiff of this curates egg with the
men who many consider to be the group’s greatest assets in bass player Fabio Pignatelli
alongside sports rock drummer Agostino Marangolo. It was this unison that remained
consistent throughout Goblin’s career, weathering the temporary departure of Claudio
Simonetti and maintaining the stylistic heartbeat of the group. Madfilth’s inclusion of Goblin
synth Maverick Maurizio Guarini and the band’s mid-period guitarist Carlo Penessi (founder
of the band Etna) pinpoints the jobbing Goblin session group during the time they recorded
the soundtracks for the films Buio Amiga and Squadra Antigagsters. This lesser celebrated
late 70’s era also witnessed the mutating Goblin rhythm section providing discoid backbeats
for records such as Giorgio Farinas Discocross LP, Simonetti’s own Capricorn alter-ego and
the homoerotic nightclub spin-off Easy Going - all of which, alongside Madfilth, provide a
strong mutual stylistic support system for their claim to cosmic discos deep red bloodline.

Yokobue player Michiko Akao's 1983 publication 'Yokobue: Michiko Akao's World', which was also published in the 'New Age Music Disc Guide' (published by DU Books), is reproduced for the first time! A new age work that greatly transcends the realm of pure Japanese music, created with Shigeaki Saegusa as the composer and arranger. It's definitely recommended for listeners who are chasing the current new age/ambient.

The newly established label Cat in the Room, created by Goodheart Productions, re-releases for the first time after almost fifty years the legendary work Smog by Kyriakos Sfetsas, one of the most important Greek contemporary composers. At the same time, in collaboration with the composer and The Hubsters, which is responsible for the digital distribution, it presents for the first time the majority of his discography in digital format.

Smog is an electro-acoustic work in five parts of equal duration (18 minutes) divided into several variable sequences. It was composed as the music score for the ballet Smog commissioned by the choreographer Michel Caserta. The work was premiered on October 18, 1974, by the Ensemble chorégraphique de Vitry at the Théâtre Jean-Vilar in Vitry-sur-Seine (Paris).

As a musical work, it has acquired over the years the scope of a legend in the electro-acoustic & avant-garde scene, for its richness and value as a composition, the composer's ingenious use of the means available at the time regarding the production of electric sounds, and their combination with natural sounds, as well as for the four-channel recording and live performance.

A new sound mastering and artwork was developed for this release in collaboration with the composer, whose liner notes are included on the cover.

Smog will be released on December 9, 2022, on a 180gr. double vinyl edition

"Reading Tolkein´s LORD OF THE RINGS saga was one of the greatest experiences of my life ... his amazing talent for words was mindboggling ... and the great topics he touched upon remain forever as the most important topics of life ... they are still most valid today .. and will be for all eternity. Everything he described through his magical words came to life before my eyes ! So it was most natural that he would inspire music within me ... music that I can not describe in words how it relates to the Saga .. but deep inside me, it all shines clear as a lamp-post on a dark street ... and it shines into my soul in many, many dimensions....." .... and on a technical note, this piece marked the first time I created Arpegge Melodies within Continuous Music !" In the ”Song of Galadriel” Lubomyr Melnyk has created one of the great epics of piano music in our century, a work of visionary character, filled with haunting and delicate melodies that evoke the mystical world of Tolkein's ”Lord Of The Rings”. Arthur Rankin Original Release: 1983 Limited All Analog Remastering Recording 29 min, per side

A vinyl reissue of the third album (originally from 1982) by the kraut/electronic musician who was inspired by a.o. late '70s Tangerine Dream. This title is relevant for anyone into the sounds of the Berlin School.

Bureau B present a reissue of Serge Blenner's Magazin Frivole, originally released in 1981. Cold, concise analog synthesizer instrumentals -- on his second album Serge Blenner remained true to his style, albeit shifting course slightly towards pop territory. The juxtaposition of dark harmonies and pop structures is what makes this album so appealing. In places, it feels like a blueprint for early Depeche Mode. Having seen his first album La Vogue (BB 324CD/LP) snapped up by the Sky Records and fast-tracked for release in 1980, Blenner delivered his second LP, Magazin Frivole, the following year. Mindful of the success of its predecessor, Blenner added the name of his debut in big letters to the front cover of the new sleeve. Blenner remained faithful to his musical style, albeit adding more of a pop flavor. Magazin Frivole would not look out of place filed alongside Depeche Mode on the record shelf, as a certain resemblance is undeniable. Moreover, Blenner was one of the few proponents of electronic music who preferred to keep his songs concise, in contrast to the meandering odysseys of many of his electronic contemporaries. The far better-known French artist Jean-Michel Jarre adhered to similar principles, yet although Blenner was often compared to his compatriot, he claims only to have heard his music long after La Vogue had appeared. Minor chords dominate his harmonies, the bass performs octave leaps which mirror the zeitgeist. Unexpected key changes abound, adding a restless, almost disquieting quality. Overall, Magazin Frivole is less dark than the preceding album, but a picture of cheerfulness it is not. Nevertheless, a poppy drum computer introduces a lighter note. From the very first track, chord changes pop up at unexpected junctures -- they seem to come in prematurely, before harmonic sequences have run their course. Blenner doesn't have any explanation for this curiosity, other than to note that "most of the music was played by hand, so of course it wasn't all perfect." "I did all I could to avoid being successful -- on a subconscious level, at least. Unpredictable metrics and irregular beats were definitely part of the process," Blenner admits with an enigmatic smile. Juxtaposed with Blenner's more recent works, one can see what he means. His latest album Musique de Chambre (2008) comprises modern classical chamber music, built on digitally sampled real instruments. Besides, Blenner points out, handling all of those analog devices was a convoluted and complex undertaking.

Originally released only on cassette in 1983, “Dogs’ Ears Are Stupid” by Chicago trio Care of the Cow is a fascinating blend of psychedelic folk, minimal electronics and post-punk weirdness. Acid fuzz guitar, incredible vocal harmonies, drum machines, analogue synths…
One of Chicago’s best kept secrets, Care of the Cow’s history goes back to 1974. A trio formed by Victor Sanders, X Baczewska and Sher Doruff, they had a very unique and eclectic sound, experimental yet very melodic, mixing psychedelic folk-rock with art-rock and DIY / post-punk. Their influences were very diverse: Beatles, Fripp, Eno, Joni Mitchell, Carla Bley, Pauline Oliveros, Eric Dolphy…
Care of the Cow debuted in 1975 with a 10” followed by their first LP album in 1981. By 1983, the band was adding drum machines and synths to their sound, highlighted by Victor’s amazing guitar playing and X & Sher’s perfectly blended vocal harmonies, resulting in “Dogs’ Ears Are Stupid”, the second Care of the Cow album, released only as a tiny cassette edition in 1983.
For us, this is a lost gem from the ‘80s underground which really deserved a LP/CD reissue. Here it is, done in collaboration with Steve Krakow of Plastic Crimewave / Galactic Zoo fame.

Computer World (German: Computerwelt) is the eighth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk, originally released on 10 May 1981. The album deals with the themes of the rise of computers within society. In keeping with the album's concept, Kraftwerk showcased their music on an ambitious world tour and issued several different versions of the single "Pocket Calculator" in different languages: namely, German ("Taschenrechner"), French ("Mini Calculateur") and Japanese ("Dentaku", or 電卓). A fifth version, in Italian ("Mini Calcolatore"), was lip-synched to on Italian television in 1981. The compositions are credited to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, and Karl Bartos. As was the case with the two previous albums, Computer World was released in both German- and English-language editions. The title of the final track, "It's More Fun to Compute", is in English in all releases, as it is based on the slogan "It's more fun to compete!", which could be seen on old pinball machines.

A compilation squeezed onto a 7” that brings together some of the finest artists active in the Japanese underground. Featuring the talents of Tenniscoats (featuring Undora), Tori Kudo, Yumbo, Kawate Naoto, & Otani Naoki. Each artist has personally chosen a song from the full length record Kumokokudo by LE TON Mité, and made it their own.

The scottish musician, born in 1953 in Port Glasgow, is one of the most eclectic artist of the so-called minimal wave scene. Alongside german singer Claudia Brücken (vocalist of the hit-makers Propaganda) he formed Act a short-lived synthpop group signed to ZTT Records in the late eighties. Licensed by Cherry Red in 1982, the double album ‘Contradictions’ is the third effort in Leer high and rising career. After the seminal debut on Industrial Records with Robert Rental – The Bridge (1979) – Leer ventured on a solo career with the brave synth wave of ‘Letter From America’ and his personal masterpiece ‘Contradictions’. The latter is such an enigmatic piece of work, with alien melodies as in the case of the ‘Soul Gypsy’ infectious white funk. The whole album was recorded in his living room at home onto 4-track using borrowed equipment ( Korg synth, Ult-sound drum computer & guitars ) from his friend Morgan Fisher. Featuring Leer’s haunting, uncertain vocal – recorded quietly, so as not to wake his girlfriend in their bedsit! – crooning over a minimal bass pulse and discreet whines and washes of primitive Wasp synthesiser, it retains its peculiar lo-fi magic four decades on.

Prima Materia was a vocal improvisation ensemble, founded by Roberto Laneri in 1973. Composed entirely of vocalists with no academic training, the group developed various techniques—revolving mostly around the use of overtones—that would embody their unique sound. No instruments nor electronic manipulations were ever employed within the group’s physiognomy, which was realized purely through the human voice. La Coda Della Tigre, the group’s sole album, was recorded in 1977 by Alvin Curran and released on Ananda, an artist-run label founded by Laneri, Curran and Giacinto Scelsi. As the original liner notes state, “The music of Prima Materia may sound radically new, yet at the same time it is likely to ring some distant bell and evoke ancient emotions. This is not due to chance: indeed, the very name of the group points to a specific path, namely, the unfolding of the potential implicit in the alchemical symbol as embodying a process of transmutation of consciousness.” Prima Materia’s four members (Laneri, Claudio Ricciardi, Gianni Nebbiosi and Susanne Hendricks) combine voices to create a singular, beautiful drone that is (as the group’s name suggests) both impossible to define and fundamentally simple. This first-time standalone reissue is recommended for fans of La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Disques Ocora.

Alvin Lucier (born May 14, 1931) is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. Much of his work is influenced by science and explores the physical properties of sound itself: resonance of spaces, phase interference between closely tuned pitches, and the transmission of sound through physical media. Bird and Person Dyning is his first solo recorded work; originally released on the Italian Cramps Records label as the 11th volume of the Nova Musicha series dedicated to contemporary avant-garde composers, Bird and Person Dyning is now made available again on Dialogo in a faithful reproduction of the original gatefold cover artwork, including also an inner sleeve with the English translation of the liner notes. From the original liner notes of “Bird and Person Dyning”: The Duke of York (1972) “A long time ago I wanted to build a grotesque jukebox. I thought of merging three or four old jukeboxes and then recording sounds on 45s, so that you could mix the sounds together. [...] The original idea of this work was about the power of singers and vedettes in our society and the hypothesis that their vocal personalities are present in our memory at different levels and, in addition, that all of us, living or dead, might somehow be part of a huge composite identity that is constantly changing with the birth and arrival of new people. The Duke of York is an attempt to elaborate these ideas. A single performer chooses and determines the order of an indefinite number of whole songs, speeches, arias, selected excerpts from books, letters, poems, films, plays, TV series or any other vocal sounds, including non-human ones. The actual duration of these sounds is altered by one or more people using synthesisers or other electronic tools, basing their choices on memories or similar experiences. Once altered, for example through a filter, the example can no longer be undone, and other changes must be made to the previous examples. The effect is that of a vocal identity made of layers of separate and partial iden tities. [...] The Duke of York was composed in 1971 and was performed in its current version on 19 February 1972 at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York. Bird and Person Dyning (1975) for performers with microphones, amplifiers, speakers and a sound object. One day I got an electronic bird in the mail. It was a silver ball with an electrical cord that, when connected, made a sound similar to that of a chirping bird [...]. A few months later I read an article in «Scientific American» about how certain birds that fly at night, particularly the bunting, cross long distances by partly orienting themselves looking at the position of the stars in relation to the rotation of Earth [...]. I owned a Sennheiser binaural microphone consisting of two mini microphones which, when introduced into the ears of a dummy or a person, faithfully reproduced the sounds as heard when they were bouncing inside the head and in the ear canals. I began experimenting by moving the sounds of the bird between two speakers, listening to them through the two mini microphones inserted in my ears, as I walked slowly through the space between the two speakers. The amplified chirps moved left and right according to my movements, creating small time delays and phase-shifts in relation to the position of the motionless bird. Sometimes the microphones would resonate with the loudspeakers, thus generating a Larsen feedback, and I could control the timbre and volume with small head movements [...]. A performance of Bird and Person Dyning is a live exploration of these phenomena. The title is meant as an exact description of the activity.

Spaced out bleeps & bloops and wild ARP synth freakouts from 1976!
“Pieces For Kohn”, as the title suggests, included four electronic pieces composed by Tom Hamilton as musical responses to 3-D geometric paintings by artist Bill Kohn.
A renowned audio producer and electronic composer, among other many things, you’ve probably have seen Tom Hamilton’s name in the credits of many albums by Robert Ashley and on releases from labels like Lovely Music, Pogus Productions, New World Records, etc.
Tom was first introduced to electronic music in 1965, while he was an undergraduate in Milwaukee, thanks to a lecture by Vladimir Ussachevsky illustrated with examples of electronic composers of the day: Bülent Arel, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Henry, Milton Babbitt…Encouraged by his teacher, Thom David Mason, Tom started to build audio circuits and battery-operated boxes that produced or modified sounds.
In 1969, Tom moved to St. Louis. After graduating at Washington University, he was offered a job to design, purchase, and build an electronic music and recording studio there. He now had continuing access to commercially built synthesizers and by the mid 1970s Tom found that working with electronic music was more satisfying to him than other musical endeavors.
The idea for the “Pieces for Kohn” album came from a studio visit with St. Louis artist Bill Kohn. Tom was an admirer of his work, which combined vibrant color combinations to fulfill 3-D geometric and architectural compositions in paintings, prints, and watercolors.
Bill proposed that Tom composed music for his art exhibition opening at a famous St. Louis gallery and Tom decided to simultaneously release that work on LP. Tom picked four of the paintings that he liked the most and titled his four pieces correspondingly. The recording took place at the Washington University Electronic Music / Recording Studio – the studio that Tom designed and first built in 1971 and then moved and rebuilt in 1974 (where it resides to date).
The original tapes were performed at the opening of Bill Kohn's exhibit at the Terry Moore Gallery in St. Louis, in January, 1976 and then Tom did a limited pressing of the album on his own label, Somnath Records.

Record Store Day Japan 2021 Drop 2 release. Released in 1978, Masaki Ueda sang the reggae lovers’ masterpiece “Harder They Come” in Japanese, a soulful cover single.

This first reference (ate001) is a reissue of Corsica Ribella, which is the second album by Ghjuvan Petru Graziani (GP.G) in collaboration with the poet Rinatu Coti. Limited to 300 copies, the reissue includes the restoration of the cover as well as an 8-page booklet containing sketches, poems and exclusive interviews with the artists translated into three languages (French/English/Corsican). Below a bit more about the artist Ghjuvan Petru Graziani (GP.G) : Born in Corsica, with a childhood in Toulon, then planer and toolmaker at the Renault Billancourt factory, GP.G created the Groupe Culturel Renault which had an impact in the political strike of 1971. Multi-faceted artist, GP.G is known among other things for his activist music label Les Disques Vendémiaire with which he produced a few big names in free jazz such as JEF Gilson, François Tusques, Cossi Anatz and ByardLancaster. Corsica Ribella record is born in 1984 when G.P.G was back in Corsica. He was at this time highly committed to the Corsican National Liberation Front (flnc). Corsica Ribella is then the first Corsican electronic disc ; a clever mix of electronics, poetry and field recording. Jazz-funk influenced, the LP is a cosmic ballad oscillating between ambient and leftfield with large instrumental parts against backdrop of nationalist demands, an ode to freedom.

The reissue of Masahide Sakuma's 1st solo album 'lisa' released in 1984 has been decided!

LP reissue of Masahide Sakuma's 1st solo album 'lisa', which has been active as a member of Yonin Bayashi and Plastics and produced for many famous artists. A work released from the ambient music series 'Music Interior' by sound engineer Seihiko Ono. It is often called a Japanese ambient masterpiece, and it is soaring in the second-hand market, making it one of the coveted fans.

Super rare album now reissued on BBE!

Mannequin Records is elated to present for the first time on vinyl the reissue of Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici’s first video soundtrack, originally released in 1984 as an audiotape in less than one hundred copies. Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici (literally Mundane Mechanical Youth) or GMM was one of the most unclassifiable audiovisual experiences to emerge from Italy in the 1980s. Maurizio Dami a.k.a. Alexander Robotnick, a pivotal member of GMM, was responsible for the group’s music output. Founded in 1984 by Antonio Glessi and Andrea Zingoni in Florence, GMM was an art collective whose production represents the quintessential expression of postmodern transmedia hybridity. GMM pioneered the genre of computer comics, created video installations, developed “multiple identity” performances, and was involved in fashion, media, and music productions, and later on produced cyberdelic environments, artificial reality projects, and proto-memes. Alexander Robotnick’s first contribution to GMM was this soundtrack for the group’s eponymous first video, the animated version of a computer comics they coincidentally published on legendary Frigidaire magazine. Restored by Dami and reissued here for the first time by Mannequin Records, the composition was also split into two “suites” and released as an audiotape distributed by Materiali Sonori, also responsible for other releases by both Robotnick and GMM. Determining in this work is Dami’s adoption of the alphaSyntauri, also known as the first affordable digital synth (priced less than $2000 when it was released in 1980), which was playable through its own software, “alphaPlus,” on the Apple II computer. The same computer was used by Glessi to “draw” the 3-bit strips scripted by Zingoni recounting the joyrides of the Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici, three merciless cyborgs in black suit and sunglasses dividing their time between nightclubs, rapes and murders. As Robotnick, Dami developed an innovative formula of Italo disco that was attractive to the dance floor yet at the same time highlighted the expressive properties of the instruments he used, notably Roland drum machines and Korg synthesizers. For the soundtrack of GMM’s videos and installations, he left aside the danceable synth rhythmics in favor of ambient sounds that produced rarefied atmospheres, psychological tensions, and enhanced states of consciousness. Dami’s scores for GMM’s artworks could be associated with Italian avant-garde music of the 1970s and 1980s, ranging from composers who adopted electronics flirting with pop and songwriting to minimalist musicians exploring seriality and drones, including Franco Battiato, Roberto Cacciapaglia, Francesco Messina, and Riccardo Sinigaglia. Analogies could also be traced with the playful and humanizing approach to personal computers that characterizes the music output of Marcello Giombini and Doris Norton. The futuristic escapism of minimal synth and ambient music’s psychological nature is infiltrated by drifting harmonics typical of new age, as if in search of a spiritual dimension of technology. Characteristic of the postmodern ethos of GMM Suite, in line with the humanizing approach to technology that is at the base of GMM’s computer comics, is the melancholic take at speculative dystopias in which human beings would find themselves increasingly trapped into identity crises: a true cyborg’s melodrama. Limited edition of 500 copies, (orange vinyl)

There are constellations within the grooves of Cymbalom Solos. Innumerable points of light, rendered audible in glowing, radiant sound. There are entire worlds too - undiscovered, yet familiar - both terrestrial and celestial. There are moments of quiet comfort and exultant discovery. And all of it conjured by one man with a handful of ancient and invented instruments, recorded mostly-live, with precious few overdubs. Michael Masley has been a fixture of Berkley, California, since he arrived from Michigan in 1982. Even today, he remains a common sight, working as a street performer - catching the attention of passers-by as he summons otherworldly overtones from a coterie of arcane instruments. This is how he met fellow east-coast transplant and musical voyager, Barry Cleveland, in 1983. Cleveland was enraptured by the sound of Masley’s wildly innovative bowhammer cymbalom. The cymbalom is an ancient instrument, similar to a zither or hammered-dulcimer - originating in Eastern Europe in 1874, but with primitive early examples dating back as early as 3500 BC. Yet Masley’s approach to the instrument was wholly original. Masley replaced the two traditional cymbalom hammers, with bowhammers - an invention wherein he fitted each of his fingers with it’s own combination hammer/bow device, which allowed him to both strike the strings, and bow them like a violin. Outfitted with his bowhammers, Masley was able to wrest startlingly new sounds from a centuries-old instrument. In 1985, after performing together for a couple years, Cleveland produced Masley’s first solo endeavour, Cymbalom Solos. With the help of Cleveland’s timely production, Masley’s technique reached its zenith. His complex and beautiful compositions combined elements of Eastern-European classical, new minimalism, and celtic/folk music, yet the end result falls squarely within the world of new age kosmiche. Music of the spheres, conjured by earthbound strings. Masley estimates that he sold tens-of-thousands of cassette copies of Cymbalom Solos over his years of performing. And now, Morning Trip is distinctly proud to offer it on vinyl for the first time ever - an album of startling, imaginative beauty, by a brilliant American folk artist.

Venezuelan Electronic Music Pioneer Vinicio Adames Synth-Pop Masterpiece from 1985. With 23 years of age Vinicio Adames self-produced and self-financed his 1st Album “Al comienzo del camino". Released in its time in Venezuela only, the album has been unavailable for decades. A complete restoration of the masters for this release, makes this album available now for the first time in fine audio quality.

Originally released in 1980, ‘Amanita’ is an early approach of Canadian artist Sherine Cisco, formerly known as Stu Cisco, to the limitless world of synthesizers in music, through ambient, progressive rock and drone noise. A unique combination of ambient, progressive rock and even drone noises and space-age that converged in ‘Amanita’, her first full album and a piece of music history. This LP marks a milestone in the investigation, experimentation and evolution of musical instruments, where the Mini Moog demonstrated its versatility and creative potential, opening Sherine a path of limitless possibilities.

Like his previous "Starburst" release, "Protosyn" was privately released in 1983 only on tape cassette format. Restored and remastered from the original tapes by Davide Bassi (Press Rewind Studios, Milan); Mr. Ricky having fun with Prophet 5, Pro 1, Korg Vc-10 Vocoder and Roland Tr-606 Drumatix.

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the release of Ryuichi Sakamoto"s classic LP "Coda", issued in Japan in 1983 as a solo piano version of the "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" soundtrack. The album, which was never been released outside of Japan until now, sees Sakamoto on acoustic piano reinterpreting fascinating versions of his famous soundtrack including the classic theme and "Germination," which was later used in the "Call Me By Your Name" soundtrack. This reissue has been remastered by Seigen Ono"s Saidera Mastering studio in Tokyo and boasts the original artwork plus a 4-page insert with new liner notes by Andy Beta.

Originally released as a picture disc in 1986, this is D-Day’s first LP, presenting a beautiful mix of Minimal Synth, New Wave, and Bossa Nova. The band was formed in October 1982 and became well-known in the Japanese indie scene. They spent over 200 hours in the studio for recording. At that time, even for major label bands, it didn't take that much time to record an album. However, as D-day was not a major label band, they were free to craft their own narrative. Thus, they had a lot of time to experiment with their dreamy melodies, whisper-like vocals, programmed beats, swirling guitars. First-ever vinyl reissue of this Japanese masterpiece. Remastered from the original tapes, it includes a replica of the original insert, and a poster with a beautiful photo and in the other side translated lyrics and an extensive text by Chihiro Yoshikawa.