Print & Design 489 Items

At a towering 6’7” tall with deep, haunting vocals to match, Peter Steele’s unique persona perfectly lended itself to the gothic atmospheres and doom-laden riffs that Type O Negative was best known for. This 4” articulated Type O Negative ReAction Figure of frontman Peter Steele is inspired by the cover art from the band’s 6th studio album Life is Killing Me album, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023, and comes with a bass guitar accessory, detailed with a real chain guitar strap. This Peter Steele ReAction Figure will be a bloody good addition to any collection- get yours today!

• Product Material/Process: Injected Plastic & Paint
• Product Accessories: bass guitar accessory with chain guitar strap detail
• Package Dimensions (in): 9"x6"x1"
• Weight: 0.19 lb

Super7 continues to pay homage to the one and only The Notorious B.I.G. with the new 7” scale, articulated Deluxe action figure. Inspired by the legendary hip-hop storyteller’s iconic east coast style, this figure features intricate sculpt and premium paint detailing, comes with sunglasses, microphone, gold chain accessories, all packaged on a blister cardback. If you don't know, now you know- this Notorious B.I.G. Deluxe figure is a must-have for any hip-hop collection!

• Product Material/Process: Injected Plastic & Paint
• Product Accessories: Sunglasses, Microphone, Gold chain
• Package Dimensions (in): 11.3" x 2.56" x 6.02"
• Product Dimensions (in): 7
• Weight: 0.6 lb

From The City of Brooklyn Zoo, Ol’ Dirty Bastard is back again! The new 7” scale, articulated O.D.B. Deluxe figure is inspired by the cover art from his platinum-selling solo debut album Return to 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, features intricate sculpt and premium paint detailing, and comes with microphone and ID card accessories, all packaged on a blister cardback. While the artist himself is gone all-too-soon, this Ol’ Dirty Bastard Deluxe figure can live on in your collection of legendary hip-hop artists!

• Product Material/Process: Injected Plastic & Paint
• Product Accessories: Microphone & ID Card
• Package Dimensions (in): 11.3" x 2.56" x 6.02"
• Product Dimensions (in): 7
• Weight: 0.2 lb

Bill Direen is a legend of the New Zealand underground. He has given us poetry, novels and a catalog of important and challenging underground music. Weaned on a garage band youth in the late '60s, Direen started producing 7" records in the early '80s, all of them total stunners. These releases—Six Impossible Things, Die Bilder, Soloman's Ball and High Thirties Piano—were self-financed and distributed through Flying Nun. 100 Years Of Darkness, his latest book, is a homage to a century of films and film music. The front cover boxes represent film aspect ratios (1.17:1 up to 2.35:1) as used worldwide between 1888 and the present. The films are drawn from many countries, such as Japan, U.S.A., France, Germany, Russia/Ukraine, Vietnam, Sweden, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Lebanon. Since some of the films may not have been commercially distributed in all countries, the chosen films are carefully listed in a detailed index of sources at the close, which corresponds to the order of the poems as listed in the contents. This makes it easy for film and music lovers to find the films' directors and years of first appearance, and eventually see them for themselves. It is very limited in an edition of 200 and beautifully printed with textured jackets in the spirit of vintage Black Sparrow Press books.

Record Time No 2 hits the bargain bins and neglected corners of the local record store to find great records that are still affordable to average folks. And, as with the first issue, we dig into the back stories of these records and artists, with a focus on good writing. This time around we do a deep dive into the life and career of Ray (Rae) Bourbon, a pre-Stonewall drag artist and comedian; jazzman Charles Lloyd's "wilderness" albums; Catalan folk legend and politico Lluis Llach; oddball rockers the Hampton Grease Band; finding the South African country music holy grail; Canadian cabaret rocker Louis Furey; the weird world of Polka; hard rocking should-have-been-huge Birtha; actor & music pusher Jack Webb; Sex Pistols and Pistols-inspired novelty records; patron saint of smart asses Rick Johnson; and more! Contributors this time are TOM Hyland, Owen Maercks, Stella Beratlis, Steve Silverstein, Nathanel Amar, Adam Taub, Nate Knaebel, Laurent Bigot, Mike Trouchon, Greg Pshaw, Johnny Sunshine, Dennis Worden, Fred DE Vries, Stan Appleton, Billups Allen, and Todd Trick Knee, with guest appearances by Lali Donovan, Larry Hardy, Tony Coulter, and Dana Katharine. Edited by S Soriano.

Formed in the late ‘80s, hip-hop group 3rd Bass gained recognition for their clever wordplay and socially-conscious lyrics, which helped distinguish themselves in an era dominated by gangsta rap! This 2-pack of 3rd Bass ReAction Figures includes articulated, 3.75” scale figures of the group’s frontmen Prime Minster Pete Nice and M.C. Serch, and comes with walking cane and wad of cash accessories. If you miss out on this 3rd Bass ReAction Figure 2-pack you’re definitely going to get The Gas Face!

• Product Material/Process: Injected Plastic & Paint
• Product Accessories: Walking cane and wad of cash
• Product Dimensions (in): 3.75"
• Weight (lbs): 0.2 lb

Lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and frontman Joe Strummer was hardly one to shy away from breaking cultural taboos and is renowned for his top-of-the-chart punk anthems that challenged the establishment! The latest 3.75” scale, articulated Joe Strummer ReAction Figure is inspired by his style in the early ‘80s and comes with a boombox accessory. Rock your collection of punk icons with this Joe Strummer ReAction Figure!

• Product Material/Process: Injected Plastic & Paint
• Product Accessories: Boombox
• Package Dimensions (in): 9"x6"x1"
• Weight: 0.2 lb

Score a slam dunk for your National Basketball Association collection with Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls. Recruit this player to your basketball collection as Pop! Michael Jordan (Rookie Season) in his red jersey. Vinyl figure is approximately 12 cm tall.

Score a slam dunk for your National Basketball Association collection with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons. Recruit this player to your basketball collection as Pop! Grant Hill (Rookie Season) in his blue and red jersey. Vinyl figure is approximately 9.5 cm tall.

Score a slam dunk for your National Basketball Association collection with Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks. Recruit this player to your basketball collection as Pop! Jason Kidd (Rookie Season) in his white jersey. Vinyl figure is approximately 9.1 cm tall.

Recruit John Stockton of the NBA’s Utah Jazz to your basketball collection! In his purple alternate uniform, Pop! John Stockton is sure to be a slam dunk on your personal roster. Vinyl figure is approximately 10 cm tall.

For fans, Boxer is a profound personal meditation. Life decisions have been based on it. Relationships have been created and dissolved by it. For the band that recorded it, Boxer symbolizes a do-or-die moment; a final, give-it-everything-you've-got effort to make it work.

Released in May 2007, The National's fourth full-length is the album that saved them. It's where the Ohio-via-Brooklyn five-piece found the sound, success, and spiritual growth to become one of the most critically acclaimed bands of their time. Obsessively researched and featuring intimate interviews with the fighters who were there in the ring, Ryan Pinkard captures a transformative chapter in The National's story, revealing how their breakthrough album is deeply intertwined with their personal lives, the New York indie rock renaissance of the early aughts, and a generational experience in America.

Kraftwerk's most concise and focused conceptual statement, Computer World, was also their most influential album, paving the way for a range of new musical styles and genres. This book explores the band's revolutionary sonic template, and their lyrical obsessions in detail.

An analysis of the bands work reveals a unifying theme, overlooked by other writers, of movement and transition. While many remarked on the prevalence of travel within Kraftwerk's art: Autobahn (1974) – cars, Trans-Europe Express (1977) – trains, The Man- Machine (1978) – space, and Tour De France (1982) – bicycles, Francis contends that this is a surface manifestation of a deeper theoretical subtext in their work. Movement is really a reflection of the concept of transition, through time and space, from one physical, emotional, or existential state of being to another. The book explores transition, as expressed on Computer World, via theories of post-humanism, cybernetics and the anthropology of transnationalism.

The OSTKREUZ agency was founded in the midst of the upheavals that took place in East Berlin in 1990. For Dream on - Berlin, the 90s, nine OSTKREUZ photographers worked together with curators Annette Hauschild (OSTKREUZ) and Boaz Levin (C/O Berlin Foundation) to cast a modern-day eye over their extensive archives as seen from today’s perspective. As documentarists operating at the apogee of photojournalism, they tracked the changes that the city underwent. They observed the shifts in society and the challenges facing a city that had previously been divided by a wall as it grew together, capturing all this in powerful, personal images. The essays reflect this on a variety of levels: Janos Frecot’s examination of the changes in the urban space; Jens Balzer’s description of Berlin’s potential as a centre of creativity and culture; and Anne Rabe’s very personal view, as a young East German writer, of today’s Berlin.

OSTKREUZ is an independent, Berlin-based agency that is run by twenty-four photographers.

348 pp.
250 b/w and color illustrations
thread-sewn hardcover

Leipzig September, 2024
ISBN: 9783959058520

Width: 20 cm
Length: 24 cm

Language(s): English

Editor
Boaz Levin, C/O Berlin Foundation, Annette Hauschild, Kathrin Kohle, OSTKREUZ

Designer
Marc Naroska

Text
Jens Balzer, Janos Frecot, Boaz Levin, Veronika Epple

Photographer
Sibylle Bergemann, Annette Hauschild, Harald Hauswald, Ute Mahler, Werner Mahler, Jordis Antonia Schlösser, Anne Schönharting, Maurice Weiss

Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), or “German New Wave,” was made extraordinarily popular in the 1970s and 1980s by the likes of Nena's "99 Luftballons" and Trio's "Da Da Da"-and then left as quickly as it came. Conventional wisdom among artists dictates that it's better to burn out than fade away, but this doesn't tell the full story of NDW-the reason for its rapid rise and fall, the historical context that necessitated the genre, and where the energy of the NDW movement went after its end.

The genre has international influences but still demonstrates a uniquely German desire to build a new, sanitized identity in the aftermath of World War II. Originally quite subversive and underground, NDW became exponentially more mainstream until it could no longer sustain itself creatively. And rather than disappearing, it helped give rise to the post-Cold War rave craze and is still an important touchstone in music history.

Claudia Lonkin is a historian of popular music and culture based in the United States.
Her research focuses on global music trends in the 1970s and 1980s, examining congruences and points of contrast between scenes in Europe and the Americas. She has been published in the Journal of Popular Music Studies and Punk & Post-Punk.

168 pages
197 x 127 mm

With zero regard for human life, the sentient renegade robot Czar Noir has a reputation for sowing chaos and destruction, and lives up to the title “The Dark Czar”! Based on Czarface and MF DOOM’s collab album, Super What?, this highly articulated, 7” scale Czarface ULTIMATES! Czar Noir figure looks like malevolence incarnate with its jet-black color scheme with metallic, blood-red details. Featuring intricate sculpt and premium paint detailing, this figure also comes with multiple interchangeable heads and hands, interchangeable forearm missiles, and a removable soft goods cape. Czar Noir is currently at large- you can put an end to his rampage by adding this made-to-order ULTIMATES! figure to your collection today!

Accessories:
• 3x Interchangeable Heads
Neutral head
Screaming head
Laser eyes head

• 9x Interchangeable Hands
2x Open hands
2x Fists
2x Claw hands
2x Transparent claw hands
1x Left fist

• Double arm missile
• Single arm missile
• Soft goods cape

Details and Specs:
• Product Material/Process: Injected Plastic & Paint
• Product Dimensions (in): 7"
• Weight (lbs): 2.0 lb

In the magazine: Marshall Allen, Frank Chickens, Water Damage, IVTKYGYG, Seo, Callahan & Witscher, Kamilya Jubran, Invisible Jukebox: Pharmakon, Global Ear: Riga, Unlimited Editions: Reading Group, The Inner Sleeve: Eleni Poulou on Irdial, Epiphanies: David Borden on Bob Moog, and in the reviews sections: Blood Incantation, FaithNYC, Alan Lamb, Music From Elsewhere, Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force, Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co, MC5, BARK!, Stick In The Wheel, and more.

On the CD: 16 new tracks by Sealionwoman, Niton featuring John Butcher, Masayoshi Fujita featuring Moor Mother, Deaf Squad x Flowdan, Tristan Perich & Ensemble 0, and more.

Known as “The Major Rager” bassist from the band Metallica, Cliff Burton is regarded as one of the most influential musicians in heavy metal music. The latest 7” scale, highly articulated Cliff Burton ULTIMATES! Figure is inspired by the fantasy “Superhero Poster” art by designer Juan Machado. Featuring intricate sculpt and premium paint detailing, the figure comes with two interchangeable heads and multiple interchangeable hands, as well as an assortment of accessories including a bass guitar with removeable energy effect, a lightning hammer, and more. Add the Superhero Poster Cliff Burton ULTIMATES! Figure to your collection so Cliff can continue to rock for all of eternity!

A collaboration with the Burton Family, proceeds from this ULTIMATES! Figure will benefit the Cliff Burton Music Scholarship Fund.

Accessories:
• 2x Interchangeable Heads
1x Neutral Head
1x Screaming Head
• 9x Interchangeable Hands
2x Fists
2x Gripping Hands
2x Open Hands
2x Bass Playing Hands
1x Bird Flipping Hand (right)
• Bass Guitar
• Bass Guitar Energy Effect
• Guitar Strap
• Lightning Hammer
• Skull Ring Punch Effects (Left & Right)
• Soft Goods T-shirt

Details and Specs:
• Product Material/Process: Injected Plastic & Paint
• Product Dimensions (in): 7"
• Weight (lbs): 2.0 lb

A documentation and reinterpretation of the liturgical incredible heritage of the mysterious Mount Athos.

The first ever book of its kind on the history of the artwork of The Residents and their label Ralph Records. The life of Ralph Records and The Residents has always been cloaked in obscure mysteries, woven by the anonymous Cryptic Corporation, around which many luminaries have revolved; painters, graphic artists, cartoonists, musicians, film-makers, and writers. All have been channeled together by a powerful creative synergy that helped champion a new, mercurial and thoroughly multi-faceted artifact. Buy Or Die!, for the very first time, brings together a collection of images that represented the sounds of Ralph from 1972 to the present. A historical journey that traces the path of one of the most innovative record labels of the last fifty years. A collection of original, rare, and remarkable images drawn from record covers, fan catalogs, posters, and a wide variety of promotional material, demonstrating the technological and stylistic adaptations undergone through the arc of half a century.

After about two and a half years of designing and production time, finally, we are ready to release the Sun Ra soft vinyl figurine. What a long road it was, but every minute of careful contemplation, trying out various designs and material and looks.... all the endless going back and forth was worth it! We are very much satisfied with the way he came out. The figurine should look very charming displayed on your record rack with your vinyl collection.

The figurine was designed by Chicago's one and only Archer Prewitt: the artist who only draws once every four years....that's right, Olympic style, and just in time for the French games coming up!......Just kidding, but anyway, always worth the wait, Archer exceeds our expectations when it comes to recreating the most accurate vibes, and Sun Ra was no exception. He brought the musical genius to life, recalling all the Sun Ra gigs he saw in the past.

We are producing the figurines slowly at the factory, as quality is our utmost priority. For this product, we are experimenting by taking on a new style of sales, where we change the retail price according to the stock quantity (prices will likely rise as the remaining stock decreases). So, if you wish to purchase, you should order as soon as possible to get the best price. Thank you for your understanding.

Designed by : Archer Prewitt Sculpted by: Tomohiro Yasui Size: doll h-7.48"/19cm w-3.54"/9cm / keyboard h-2.95"/7.5cm w-3.14"/8cm / box 8.66"/22cm x 5.9"/15cm x 3.34"/8.5cm Material: soft-vinyl・PVC・ABS / one-piece dress・Cape → cloth JAN: 4560247870775 Release date: 2024.9 © Sun Ra LLC © Archer Prewitt

Sun Ra Birth name: Herman Poole Blount. May 22, 1914 - May 30, 1993. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Jazz composer, band leader, piano and synthesizer player, poet, thinker. As a leading figure in Afrofuturism, he has mastered a wide range of styles including jazz, R&B, exotica, Afro-hybrid, electronic, big band, solo piano, orchestra, experimental music, and chamber music. During his 45-years recording career, he has released a vast number of albums and was the first black musician to own an independent label. The label was named “Saturn” after the planet he claimed to have been born on. Its handmade, one-of-a-kind jackets can be considered as works of art, and are now collectors' items. He is a unique genius who refused to compromise or relinquish control of his own destiny.

For their third studio album, Aquemini, OutKast blended the funk of their debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, and the futuristic soul of their second album, ATLiens, into a sonic tour de force! The latest 3.75” scale, articulated OutKast ReAction Figures of Big Boi and André 3000 are inspired by the cover art from the iconic duo’s third studio album, Aquemini, and come packaged on a special 2-pack cardback- and you know we had to give Big Boi walking cane and removable jacket accessories! Give your collection a dose of SpottieOttieDopaliscious-ness by adding this OutKast ReAction Figure 2-pack today!

• Product Material/Process: Injected Plastic & Paint
• Product Accessories: Big Boi: Removable jacket and walking cane
• Product Dimensions (in): 3.75"
• Weight (lbs): 0.19 lb

*140+ Pages, Full Colour, Heavyweight Print *
Another packed trademark journal from Wax Poetics.

. This issue features articles on the history of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, the 90's hip-hop of Bahamadia and a deep dive into Dazz Band with their strutting funk jams. Plus, we cover the London Latin Jazz scene, Brian Auger, Lenny White and old school Parisian record stores, along with much much more. Don't sleep, very limited numbers.

Are we not men? We are BOB 1! The new articulated, 3.75” scale DEVO ReAction Figure of Bob Mothersbaugh is inspired by his appearance in the 1980 music video for “Girl U Want” and features the lead guitarist in an iconic Energy Dome hat and metallic-silver naugahyde suit, and comes with a blue, cloud-shaped guitar with strap. Introduce your collection to “devolution” with this Bob Mothersbaugh ReAction Figure!

• Product Material/Process: Injected Plastic & Paint
• Product Accessories: blue, cloud-shaped guitar
• Package Dimensions (in): 9"x6"x1"
• Product Dimensions (in): 3.75
• Weight (lbs): 0.19 lb

The Secret DJ’s first two books lifted the lid on what really happens behind the decks in the sometimes hilarious, sometimes harrowing world of the superstar DJ. Now they’ve reached out to dozens of DJs from around the world – and from every scene and genre – for their own true stories of the DJ life.

Tales From the Booth raises the BPM, rounding up an all-star cast of Secret DJs to tell their anonymous stories of what it’s really like to rock dancefloors for a living. From strange encounters on tour to side-splitting debauchery and afterparty excess to the seamy and even dangerous side of the industry, this is your access-all-areas backstage pass. You’ll never look at a DJ quite the same again.

During the second half of the 1990s, Paris experienced a dance music revolution thanks to groundbreaking artists like Daft Punk, Air, Super Discount, Motorbass, Cassius, Dimitri from Paris, Bob Sinclar and many, many more. It was a scene that became known as French Touch and was heralded throughout the world as the epitome of dance music cool, forever placing Paris on the dance culture map. Journalist and author Martin James was there right from the start, documenting the scene from its inspirations to its earliest moments and onto its global breakthrough. In the process, he inadvertently provided the French Touch moniker that became adopted throughout the world. Drawing on a dazzling array of exclusive interviews with the biggest names in French electronic music history, French Connections explores France's significant contribution to dance music culture that paved the way for the French Touch explosion.

The Icon Catalogue is a series of small A6 zines profiling 40 record labels in various dance music genres such as Techno, Drum & Bass, Jungle, UK Garage and Dubstep. From the most important labels responsible for the scene’s foundations to rare, hard-to-find imprints now defunct, plus a few heavy-hitting newcomers.

House Volume 1 features the likes of Defected, Trax, Music For Freaks, Sound Pak, Vulture Music and many more.

Pages: 44
Size: A6 (10.5cm x 14.8cm)
Binding: Staple bound
Print: Black & white
Authors: Joe Roberts & Chris Dexta

You Out Tonight? is the first book from Tough Luck, the Instagram account with over 46k followers that spotlights up-and-coming youth culture photographers from around the world. It features the work of 15 photographers from different backgrounds and styles, all united by their passion for capturing contemporary club culture with over 300 photographs from around the world. The book is 17.5cm x 24cm, and the 160 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 150gsm paper with a hardback cover.

Step into the vibrant and pulsating world of nightlife through the lens of Tough Luck, the Instagram account that has become the heartbeat of contemporary club and rave photography. Through the lenses of their talented photographers, they unfold the stories of the night, spotlighting clubs, festivals, and the diverse characters shaping nocturnal culture.

While many rave photography books reminisce about the past, You Out Tonight? offers a fresh, contemporary experience. As you flip through the pages, you’ll find yourself immersed in the kaleidoscope of lights, colours, and emotions that define the modern clubbing experience. The book features photos from:

Aaron Wyld
Alfred Golding
Alice Palm
Amelia Valentiner
Bruna Blumenberg
Daniel Fennessy
Distorted
Edward Pascall
Max McDonald
Peter Aallyn
Roffa Archive
Selina Paton
Tara Sammouri
Tia Payne

Whether you’re a seasoned partygoer or a curious observer, Tough Luck invites you to experience the magic, the chaos, and the indescribable beauty of the night. Prepare to be transported into a world where time stands still, and the only currency is the rhythm of the music.

Quotes:

“Anthropology for the masses… Tough Luck bottles what it feels like to be young and out now” Matthew Whitehouse, editor of The Face

“It’s always a joy when I experience a spontaneous night out, even if vicariously while scrolling. It’s often an image from a photographer I’ve never heard of and excited to discover. The posts always make me smile and wish I was young again. For others like me who want to feel something fresh, exciting and real, check out Tough Luck UK, it’s the one place on instagram where I’m more than happy to go down the wormhole.” Elaine Constantine, BAFTA nominated writer/director and photographer

Take a trip through alien worlds and bizarre scenarios in a psychedelic Hero’s Journey of thrilling and surreal art from the mind of celebrated artist and composer Jem Panufnik. The Legend of Kaptain Karnival is highly original lavishly illustrated book that also includes a CD soundtrack recorded under his Jem Stone moniker.

The book is 24.5cm square and the 96 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 150gsm paper with a hardback cover.

Peanut Butter Wolf connected with old friend Bod Boyle to make these skate decks for our 25th anniversary.

Bod and Wolf were friends before Stones Throw when Bod was a pro skater gracing the cover of Thrasher magazine and Wolf was making demo tapes with Charizma. Logo collage by Jeff Jank; Manufactured by Dwindle, Bod’s manufacturing and distribution company. Made to be skated.

100% Canadian Maple
Medium Concave
Single Deck Press
Size: 8.25” x 32.1”
Wheelbase: 14.25”
Shipping weight: 5lbs

Tune in to your favourite channels with Pop! Music Television®! Complete your Ad Icons collection when you bring this adorable television set into your home as a Pop! figure! Vinyl figure is approximately 10.6 cm tall.

The King of Pop is ready to take the stage in your music collection! Rock on with legendary, American singer-songwriter, Pop! Michael Jackson, as he stuns the crowd with iconic moves from his hit performance of “Billie Jean.” Who will this iconic performer collaborate with in your Pop! Rocks collection? Vinyl figure is approximately 11.3 cm tall.

A fascinating oral history of one of American indie rock's most enduring and influential acts. Slow, deliberate and deceptively simple, the music of Boston-based band Galaxie 500 was wonderfully at odds with the prevailing underground sounds of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Formed in 1987, the band split up in 1991 after releasing three acclaimed albums—Today, On Fire and This Is Our Music—as well as a Peel Sessions recording. The primary contributors to this long unavailable history of the band are the three band members—bassist/vocalist Naomi Yang, drummer Damon Krukowski and guitarist/vocalist Dean WAREHAM—but dozens of people were interviewed in all, including fellow musicians, record business folks, music critics and scenesters. Galaxie 500: Temperature’s Rising provides a complex, sometimes contentious account of the band’s rise to indie stardom and their acrimonious breakup. It also includes dozens of rare and never-before-seen photographs, as well as posters and other ephemera from the personal collection of Naomi Yang, who provides a running commentary to the images. This is the definitive book about Galaxie 500, and a crucial chapter in the story of indie rock.

»Here In, Absence« is the result of the dialogue between the Finnish photographer Mikael Siirilä and ambient artists The Humble Bee & Offthesky. Mikael Siirilä describes himself as a darkroom artist based in Helsinki, Finland. »My small individual photographs examine the themes of absence, presence and outsiderhood. My characters appear immersed in their inner worlds and moments of being: simultaneously absent and intensely present.«

400 page hardcover large format book - Includes CD with 10 Japanese Jazz tracks - Compiled by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden - Only 2000 copies printed - Largest picture book on Japanese Jazz ever printed - First and only picture book devoted to Japanese Jazz covers to be produced outside Japan - Extra sections on non-Japanese artists and Blue Note albums produced exclusively for the Japanese market - Includes intro by Terumasa Hino plus articles by Yusuke Ogawa, Mats Gustafsson, Tony Higgins and interview with Tohru Aizawa - DJ J Jazz Top Tens from around the world BBE Music is thrilled to present J Jazz: Free and Modern Jazz From Japan 1954-1988, a remarkable large-format book covering some of the deepest, rarest, and most innovative jazz music released anywhere in the post-war era. Compiled by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden, co-curators of BBE Music's acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass Series, the book also features a foreword by Japanese jazz icon, Terumasa Hino.

This is the first time a book of this type has been published outside of Japan and the first anywhere of this size and scale. It is a unique collection of over 500 albums of free and modern jazz released in Japan during a period of radical transformation and constant reinvention. An era that saw Japan return from the ravages of World War Two to become a global economic power and emerge as both a technological leader and an international cultural force.

Through a unique gallery of albums, J Jazz charts the development of jazz in Japan from the first stirrings of the modern jazz scene in the mid to late 1950s and on through the hard bop and modal jazz of the 1960s. It steers the reader into the radical directions of the 1970s when free jazz, fusion, post-bop, and jazz-funk opened up a growing number of Japanese jazz artists to a new global audience before consolidating in the mid to late 1980s with a musical scene that laid the path for the contemporary jazz generation to follow.

Over 500 full-colour sleeves from many of the leading names in Japanese jazz sit alongside rare and private pressings that tell a story of constant change and musical exploration. J Jazz includes profiles of several leading record labels such as East Wind, Frasco, King Records, and Nippon Columbia as well as critical independents such as Three Blind Mice, ALM, and Aketa’s Disk. J Jazz includes interviews with celebrated jazz photographer Tadayuki Naito, and pianist Tohru Aizawa, bandleader on the totemic spiritual jazz album, Tachibana Vol 1, as well as free-jazz record collector and jazz musician Mats Gustafsson.

The book also features a chapter on albums by non-Japanese artists that only received a Japanese release, with collectible, rare, and obscure releases by figures such as Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Mal Waldron, Steve Lacy, and Art Blakey. J Jazz includes Japanese jazz charts from some of the world's leading jazz DJs including Gilles Peterson, Toshio Matsuura, Paul Murphy, and Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino. Among the specialist content is a feature on obi strips by record dealer and Japanese jazz expert, Yusuke Ogawa, plus a special article on Japanese Blue Note albums.

Across its 300-plus pages, J Jazz includes a detailed introduction contextualising the music, tracing the story of Japan's fascination with jazz back before the war. It also features biographical information on many of the key artists involved in shaping the post- war Japanese jazz scene including Sadao Watanabe, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Masabumi Kikuchi, Masahiko Togashi, Terumasa Hino, Yosuke Yamashita, Fumio Itabashi, Masayuki Takayanagi, Takeo Moriyama, Isao Suzuki, and many more.

On the cover: The Body & Dis Fig. Inside: Farida Amadou, Steve Beresford, Pavel Richter, Dialect, petals, Erica Dawn Lyle, H-Fusion, Invisible Jukebox: Melt-Banana, The Inner Sleeve: Eve Libertine, Epiphanies: Roy Claire Potter, Global Ear: Barcelona, Unlimited Editions: YOUTH, plus in the review sections: Laurie Anderson, Belong, Seefeel, Three Quarter Skies, Dhangsha, NicoNote, Laura Cannell, Primitive Percussion Youth Orchestra, Endon, Bobby Hutcherson, Harold Land, Red Kross, David Corio’s images of Black musicians, the Gnaoua & World Music Festival, Gary Stewart, Lonnie Holley, specialist columnists, and more.

Spaces of Worship

A Journey Through Spiritual Landscapes

Taking us on a journey through the history of sacred art and architecture, Sacred Sites explores the myriads of ways in which we imbue our environments with profound and enduring meaning. From our early designation of nature and the body as temple to our futuristic embrace of imaginary realms, we travel the vast and mystical landscapes of myth, religion, and imagination.

Through gathering, we ignite our spaces with spirit, we circle the bonfire, bow down at the forest altar, give praise at the temple to our chosen divinities. Through pilgrimage, we carve indelible pathways, making our meditative way across continents, generations of footsteps treading, again and again, upon sacred grounds. And through our creative offerings to spirit - we envision new worlds, wildly imaginative odes to what we deem as holy; golden temples hewn of rock, enormous spirals sculpted from sand and soil, silent sanctuaries hidden among wooded groves. We paint the ancient cave walls, carve petroglyphs to mark the way, place roses in veneration at the candlelit shrine.

Slowly, stone-by-stone, we build monuments to our gods, a cosmic geometry held within our sacred architecture of worship. These hidden patterns can be found in the mysterious, towering pyramids found across the globe and throughout an astounding diversity of cultures, in the marble sanctuaries built to house the Greek and Roman goddesses, and in the windblown mountain monasteries of ancient Asia and the indigenous cliff-dwellings of the American Southwest.

Nature, art, beauty, these are the common elements found both within the places made sacred by our ancestors and in the multitude of environments where we strive to connect to source, and to ourselves. Tracing a hallowed route from rugged stone temples to transcendent works of modern architecture, the fifth volume in The Library of Esoterica celebrates the collective history of spaces made sacrosanct through human worship.

A visual pilgrimage through holy mountains, great pyramids, and golden shrines, Sacred Sites celebrates the ways we transform the world around us through ritual, creativity, and worship. Essays, interviews and more than 400 images explore spaces ranging from ancient temples to modern works of spatial art.

“From Machu Picchu to the Louvre—the book journeys through sacred sites in art and ancient history.”
Artnet News

“Sacred Sites celebrates how we traverse and transform the world around us through ritual and art. Compiled by Jessica Hundley, [the book] surveys a remarkable array of places and artworks through more than 400 images centered around pilgrimage, performance, and devotion.”
This is Colossal

“A decadent feast for the eyes, laced with belladonna.”
The New York Times

The editor and author
Jessica Hundley is an author, filmmaker and journalist. She has written for the likes of Vogue, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, and has authored books on artists including Dennis Hopper, David Lynch, and Gram Parsons. Hundley often explores the counterculture in her work, with a focus on metaphysics, psychedelia, and magic.

Sacred Sites. The Library of Esoterica
Hardcover, quarterbound, 17 x 24 cm, 1.77 kg, 520 pages
ISBN 978-3-8365-9060-0
Edition: English

Every Sneaker Story Worth Telling!

An anthology of cult magazine Sneaker Freaker

Back in 2002, Simon “Woody” Wood was dreaming up schemes to get free sneakers. Two weeks later, he was the proud owner of Sneaker Freaker and his life was never the same.

From its early roots as a punk-style fanzine to today’s super-slick print and online operations, the fiercely independent publication has documented every collab, custom, limited edition, retro reissue, Quickstrike, Hyperstrike, and Tier Zero sneaker released over the last 20 years.

Woody’s original premise that Sneaker Freaker would be “funny and serious, meaningful and pointless at the same time” has certainly been vindicated in The Ultimate Sneaker Book. With more than 500 pages jam-packed with insider knowledge and his own irreverent observations, the insane historical detail and otaku-level minutiae is beyond obsessive.

Traversing 100 years of history, each chapter paints a rollicking picture of the sneaker industry’s evolution. Air Max, Air Force, Adi Dassler, Converse, Dapper Dan, Dee Brown, and Michael Jordan—along with obscure treasures like Troop, Airwalk, and Vision Street Wear—are all exhaustively documented.

This is a definitive source of knowledge. This is… The Ultimate Sneaker Book!

Sneaker Freaker has been at the forefront of the global sneaker scene for over two decades. With over 500 redesigned pages, fresh photography, immense historical detail, and otaku-level minutiae, this anthology combines the magazine's finest and content created exclusively for this book into one big celebration of sneakers.

“The most definitive sneaker culture magazine on the planet!”
MTV

The editor and author
Simon “Woody” Wood established Sneaker Freaker in 2002 as the first and only international magazine dedicated to footwear. Today, Sneaker Freaker documents every colab, custom, limited-edition, and retro reissue in exacting detail across multiple digital channels and print projects. Based in Melbourne, Woody is recognized worldwide for his encyclopedic knowledge, inimitable writing style, and steadfast role as an authentic ambassador. His TASCHEN titles include the best-selling Ultimate Sneaker Book and The World's Greatest Sneaker Collectors.

Hardcover, 15.6 x 21.7 cm, 1.11 kg, 512 pages

Credited as one of the pioneers of ‘harsh noise wall’; influential artist Sam McKinlay (b. 1974, CA) has been operating under the alias The Rita for over 25 years. Having performed extensively and credited with over 200 releases, the project has grown into a laser focused multidisciplinary venture and is celebrated for pushing the boundaries of ‘harsh noise’.

Accompanying The Rita’s singular and often unpredictable sonic output is an inseparable and distinct visual language. By combining McKinlay’s fine arts education, research, experimentation, and collaboration; the project visually and texturally unites the artist’s interests in minimalist design, noise, ballet, sharks, choreography, and film.

‘Correlations’ presents some of the images and documents McKinlay finds most definitive in his practice The monograph is designed to provide a cohesive understanding of the artist’s creative trajectory, as well as illuminate The Rita’s uncanny process that visually, conceptually, and historically ‘connects’ seemingly unrelated subjects.

Published by Amaya Productions; the monograph includes essays by the author and Centre Pompidou art historian Nicolas Ballet (‘Shock Factory: The Visual Culture of Industrial Music’), associate Professor and harsh noise artist Lexi Turner (Cornell University), and author, writer, producer Kier-La Janisse (‘House of Psychotic Women’).

The book comes with inlaycard signed by Jimi Tenor.

At long last, we’re got the massive biography on THE Bangles and it is nothing short of a whopper. This monumental project, started by author and unofficial band historian Eric Shade back in the 1990s has had quite a journey from start to finish. This insane overview of the early days of the members’ obscure early groups, as well as an amazing snapshot of the sorely-undocumented Paisley Underground scene of early 80s LA, all the way up through the core band members’ current projects, is a feat we never though we’d see fulfilled. For a band as huge and omnipresent as The Bangles still in are 2023, the revelation of their earlier efforts, such as the mind-blowing story of Micki Steele in the first lineup of the fledgling Runaways, while the Peterson sisters were rocking out in bands such as THE Muze, Hollywood Girls, and THE Fans right around the same period is the legendary stuff mostly outside of public knowledge. The intertwining stories of Susanna Hoffs meeting David Roback (later of The Rain Parade) and getting inspired by The Last, with Vicki & DEBBI’s growing interest in garage bands like The Unclaimed around town, All Over The Place shows how many moving parts were swirling around, generating a indescribable electricity around Los Angeles as the hardcore scene raged on the other side of the coin. As the Paisley Underground scene evolved during its short window, bands such as Salvation Army/the Three O’clock, Long Ryders, and Dream Syndicate are given their long-overdue historical appreciation here. 438 page softcover book. First edition of 600 copies.

The extended play recording. Not quite an album. More than a single. And not only an artifact of the vinyl era—the EP has survived and even thrived at every turn of the music industry’s evolution, from vinyl to tape to CD to stream. This definitive book unearths the EP’s origins, history and cultural impact and enlists nearly 50 music-industry veterans (musicians, scribes, producers, executives, superfans) to create a list of the 200 Best EPs ever recorded and shapes these opinions into a book that seeks to trace the arc of the EP’s development and, in so doing, chart the history of the music industry writ large. From Dangerhouse to Touch & Go to Sub Pop to Flying Nun, and all roads in between, savvy labels have used the EP to great effect and its been the way to introduce bands in a less risky mid-sized format for decades. This super-interesting guide shows how the format developed and how it took on a life of its own, from early jazz & rock’n roll through the beat & psychedelic rock era, right on through punk, new wave, and post-punk, and into the alternative/indie rock era, right up to the modern age. This rousing guide through the mid-sized mindset features a huge swath of guest writers galore, each offering up their enthusiastic opinions on which EPs deserve your attention, divided by decade, along with all of their details on long-forgotten B-sides and extras that couldn’t fit on the 7” version, yet easily pad out a 12”. 202 pages, softcover. First edition of 600 copies.