[ aquarius records catalogue

V/ALethal Weapons(Aztec Music)cd$ 21.00

This is a pretty wicked sampler of artists on Lex records, an imprint of Warp that specialises in hip hop, and who brought us the totally amazing Boom Bip 'Seed To Sun' record a while back. Features selections from the first handful of Lex releases as well as exclusive tracks from a bunch of non-Lex folks. Tracks by Boom Bip, Sage Francis, Why?, Peaches, Edan, Tes, Supersoul, Madlib, Jaime Lidell and loads more. Once again packaged in a cool Lex Records-style embossed slip case, this time done up all graffitti style!

MPEG stream: In The Tree Top
MPEG stream: Casanova
MPEG stream: Just Listen

What better way to celebrate the birth of our country (we're writing this on July 4th) than with this fantastic compilation of spiritual jazz, civil rights anthems and protest speeches from Bob Thiele's independent jazz label, Flying Dutchman. Spanning the years 1969-1974, Thiele began the Flying Dutchman label after years running ABC's modern jazz imprint Impulse records, where he produced John Coltrane and introduced free jazz to a wider audience. After a petty dispute with that label involving Thiele's choice to produce and release Louis Armstrong's last big hit, "What A Wonderful World" (which Thiele co-wrote under a pseudonym), Thiele made the move to be independent of big record labels in order to be able to release records he thought needed to be heard. His biggest star on Flying Dutchman was Gil Scott-Heron, whose "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" sets the tone for this release. Marked by black power anthems, cosmic spirituality and spoken word pieces by Angela Davis, H. Rap Brown, and Carl B. Stokes, the first elected black mayor of a large American city (Cleveland), Liberation Music speaks truth to power in incredible focus of one of the more exciting jazz labels of the sixties and seventies. For anyone who dug the Spiritual Jazz comps, this is essential!

MPEG stream: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
MPEG stream: Sais (Egypt)
MPEG stream: Friends And Neighbors
MPEG stream: The Giant Is Awakened
MPEG stream: Martin Was A Man, A Real Man

Eleven pieces culled from Ira Glass' National Public Radio show, with contributions from David Sedaris, Dishwasher Pete, and more. Contains the unbelievable "Hands on a Hard Body" piece, about a 'deep-thinking' trailer trash competition to see who can win a shiny new truck by keeping their hands literally ON it for three days straight. Bonus: gorgeous artwork from Chris Ware, creator of the Acme Novelty Library.

We're pretty smitten with Mississippi Records. Not only are they a cool little record store in Portland Oregon, like AQ and OM and a handful of others, helping the neighborhood record store stay alive, they are also an amazing label, releasing remarkable vinyl only compilations, as well as a handful of limited release from underground musicians. In the past we listed the I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore 1927-1948 comp. Packed with lost old time blues (now sadly out of print), and the equally amazing Lipa Kodi Ya City Council collection that featured tons of rare African music, from high life to ju ju to pop to choral music... And now we have the latest release from Mississippi, Life Is A Problem, which collects some totally mindblowing gospel rarities. A few we had heard of, like Utah Smith and Bishop Perry Tillis, but so many we had never heard or heard of before, and it's all fantastic. And so varied. Some tracks are classic gospel, all voices and handclaps, others are wild psychedelic freakouts, with slippery slide guitars and rambunctious percussion, still others are super soulful, some are sermons set to music, testifying over groovy guitars and warbly organs. The sound quality varies wildly too, from the crackly hiss of old 78s, the fiery and furious sound of blown out analog tapes, some are washed out and ethereal, others immediate and intense. But again, they're all fantastic, and wild and varied enough that even folks who aren't always into gospel, might dig this stuff for what it is, super creative, original, out there, personal and super inspired music, that transcends genre for sure. Like all Mississippi releases, super nice handmade packaging. This one includes a printed insert featuring liner notes on each of the performers on the comp from Yeti Magazine's Mike McGonigal, as well as a bonus 7" featuring Bongo Joe Coleman doing "This Old World Is In Terrible Condition. Obviously VERY recommended.

Short form review: Ridiculously awesome. We mean, kind of a no-brainer here, you know you want this - the sequel to B-Music's indeed wonderful The Sound Of Wonder comp has arrived, and of course it's awesome. As the subtitle Plugged-In Sounds of Wonder at the Pakistani Picture House suggests, it's another 16 tracks of vintage "Lollywood" soundtrack gems, exotic pop produced by the Lahore film industry circa the '60s and '70s, taken from the vaults of EMI Pakistan; a spicy blend of impassioned vocals, fuzz guitars, analog synths, spacey effects, lush orchestration, and ethnic hand percussion, music that's just a bit rawer and if possible zanier than its Bollywood counterpart, though not too dissimilar... Life Is Dance sure starts off with a bang, a Great Googly Moogly of a track called "Zambo Zambo" boasting crazy gruff vocals that will have you staring at your stereo. That one goes on for nearly nine minutes, really a wild ride full of curious, catchy sonic juxtapositions. And somehow this album's compilers keep up the "Urdu-groove" awesomeness from there on in. Many of the big names Lollywood history appear here, among 'em Sohail Rana and Nahid Akhtar. As always with B-Music/Finders Keepers stuff, impeccably researched, lovingly presented, with informative liner notes and evocative graphics...

MPEG stream: Zambo Zambo
MPEG stream: Life Is Dance
MPEG stream: Cobra Sway
MPEG stream: Don't Drink

As much as we love Mississippi Records, and we DO love them, we're beginning to wonder why the Numero Group doesn't engender the same slavish devotion. If anything, they're like Mississippi with more money, fancier releases, maybe that's the problem, they're not punk enough, whatever it is, plenty of folks DO understand, and do worship at the altar of Numero Group, cuz it's no mystery as to what just might be the best reissue label going. And if the last 50+ releases didn't convince you, and this one STILL doesn't, we give up. Light is a gorgeous and massive hardcover book / double lp combo, the book features photos by photographer Michael L. Abramson, who between the years 1975 to 1977 visited a handful of legendary blues bars on Chicago's South Side, not to capture the groups performing, but instead the folks in the crowd, and at the bar, and in the parking lot, and the results are amazing, 100+ photos available for the first time, of folks all dolled up and out on the town, drinking, dancing, socializing, the clothes are amazing, the hair is amazing, a fascinating snapshot of another side of Chicago's blues music scene, the side NOT on stage. The book is massive 12" x 12", with essays and a section of ephemera, and if that weren't enough, the book comes with a double lp featuring funky Chicago blues, just the sort of music the folks in these photos were grooving to live or playing on the jukebox. House in a super striking gatefold sleeve, also included is a little snapshot / catalog, a jukebox 7", printed inner sleeves, liner notes, photos of the 7" labels, ALL that housed in a super thick, boxlike slipcover/ Incredible. Visually, sonically, meticulously researched, perfectly assembled and presented, not sure where Numero Group can go next, but we're dying to find out.

Occasionally whilst reading AQ reviews (or elsewhere too of course), you may have run across a reference to something called the NWOBHM, a curious acronym that stands for "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal". Hopefully we explained what it meant! Or it was somewhat clear from context, describing the influences of such bands as Slough Feg, Early Man, or Circle at their most metal (who'd like be be called a "NWOFHM" band, actually...New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal, natch). The NWOBHM began around 1979, continuing into the early eighties, almost a reaction to and also a hybridization of both punk rock and '70s classic rock. Some famous NWOBHM acts include Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Venom, Angel Witch, Saxon... a varied bunch to be sure. And without the NWOBHM, we'd never have had Metallica, and thus thrash, and thus death metal, and thus black metal, etc. etc.... well maybe. Anyway, in case you're, say, a fan of Pharaoh Overlord's 4 album (another "NWOFHM" release), or into grim black metal, but would like a little history lesson about the real old school stuff, this NWOBHM stuff, we've got just the thing. A three-cd set, imported from England, celebrating the NWOBHM in all its (mostly obscure) glory. 56 tracks from such bands as Trespass, Raven, Bitches Sin, Blitzkreig, Persian Risk, Satan, Heavy Pettin, Silverwing, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Holocaust, Ethel The Frog, Savage, Warfare, Jaguar, Vardis, Fist, Quartz, Cloven Hoof, Tyson Dog, Praying Mantis... the biggest names are probably Venom, Diamond Head, Angel Witch, and Samson. And believe it or not there are plenty of entries here from bands that we'd never even heard of before as well (Hellanbach, She, Avenger, Aragorn, Crucifixion, Xero, Horsepower...)!! A lot of these bands didn't have long careers, but still managed a killer single or two, which is why comps like this are treasure-troves, a NWOBHM 'best of' composed of some album tracks, 7" cuts (so many great ones on the Neat Records label) and tracks from back-in-the-day comps like New Electric Warriors (1980) and Metal For Muthas (1980). So for NWOBHM fans old and new, this is a nice collection of headbanging, party hardy METAL -- catchy riffs, wailing vox, guitars guitars guitars. Comes with a 12 page booklet full of record sleeve art and liner notes on each act, packaged in a box with the cds in cardboard sleeves.

MPEG stream: Blitzkreig
MPEG stream: Lady Of Mars
MPEG stream: Running
MPEG stream: Let It Loose

A comp featuring exclusive tracks by AQ faves like Circle, Jesu, and Stinking Lizaveta, among others?! Heck we'd want one even if it was a tribute album to, say, Kid Rock or Limp Bizkit. (Actually those sound like they'd almost be interesting in a sick sort of way.) This IS a tribute album, it's on the tribute-o-centric Dwell label after all, but the subject is much more acceptable: '60s psych legend Syd Barrett. And though we love early Pink Floyd and solo Syd too, none of us here are quite obsessed enough to expertly critique this comp's covers of Syd Barrett tunes from that side of things... but doubtless if that's the sort of detail you want, you can find some Internet chat page all aflame with commentary on the ins and outs and ups and downs of these bands' take on the music of Syd Barrett, who was most 'correct', and all. What we can tell you is, to our ears, this is a damn cool comp! While tributes are often quick-buck cash-ins full of no-name acts, this one's good for several reasons, excellent songs to start with, with an equally excellent selection of bands doing the tributizing, several big-time AQ faves among 'em as we said: Circle! Jesu! Stinking Lizaveta! Unearthly Trance! freakin' Pentagram!! The compilers seem to have asked bands that lurk at the swirling vortex of heaviness/psychedelia/metal/prog and persuaded some of the best to put on the paisley and do their best Syd impressions. Here's the full lineup: Kosmos (featuring Away from Voivod), Kylesa, Intronaut, Stinking Lizaveta, Jarboe (from the Swans), Pentagram, Giant Squid, Yakuza, Jesu, Unearthly Trance, Dredg, Circle, and Zodiak. Some do their Syd HEAVY, whereas others lighten up their usual sound. Intronaut definitely display some pop talent, and Stinking Lizaveta, normally all-instrumental, surprise with an excellent vocal rendition of "Matilda Mother" - but at about 1:48 into the song their true Stinking Liz identity comes to the fore, as they turn on the searing, psychedelic guitar soloing and bass-heavy groove. Lumbering cuts from Kylesa ("Interstellar Overdrive") and Zodiak ("See Emily Play") are true to form. Amidst this lineup, Jarboe's track, a version of "Late Night" (also recently covered by Belong on their Colorloss LP) is a bit of left turn, as it's all about her whispery vocals (nice, NOT annoying as sometimes we find her) and not so much about guitar like so many of the others here. Some other random observations regarding a few of these tracks: Ancient doom metallers Pentagram, the oddest entry only 'cause it's so hard to believe they really exist in this time and place, stick close to the original of "Flaming", Bobby Liebling singing in his weird old man voice, but with an affected British accent (or maybe it's just how he often sounds a bit like Ozzy anyway). Giant Squid do a Syd song called "Octopus", natch, and make us want to check 'em out as we sorta slept on their album. Yakuza's intense version of "Lucifer Sam" really makes us think of Voivod - except Voivod, known for their Floyd covers, never did this particular one. Speaking of Voivoid, who here gets "Astronomy Domine"? Dredg, with a sparkling rendition. Jesu brings loads of shoegazing slo-mo fuzz and echoing vocals to their take on "Chapter 24", just as you might expect. And Circle's version of "Rats" is -very- Circle sounding, in their sorta folky-mode (a la their Forest album) with Mika Ratto's acid-gobbling vocals not at all out of place. So, listen for yourself, this is one of those rare tributes you could probably enjoy either as a fan of the bands on it (as many of you are) and/or as a fan of the subject of the tribute. We imagine a Floyd freak could wind up getting into some cool new music as a result of this comp, and likewise it'll probably turn on some Jesu fans, or whatever, to the wonders Syd Barrett's melodic, acid visions. And it's a "legitimate" tribute, in the sense that Syd Barrett and his Pink Floyd colleagues really were one of the crucial '60s artists to pioneer and make possible the wide range of weird, spaced out music we all love today, of which the bands on this comp are all good examples.

MPEG stream: Lucifer Sam
MPEG stream: Arnold Layne
MPEG stream: Chapter 24

It could be said that the concept behind 'Lily Of The Valley' is the interpretation of love located deep within the sound cards of a handful of ProTools-driving laptops. Translation: guys who don't know how to talk to girls. Anyway, the concept is pretty much an immaterial aside to this compilation presented by the acclaimed label Schematic who are known for some exquisite replications of the Autechre-style IDM electronica skitter, and this compilation is no exception to the Schematic rule. The featured engineers/Romeos are Richie Devine, Phoenicia, Delarosa & Asora, Jake Mandell, Takeshi Muto, Jeswa, 09, and Gliese.

Limited to 600 copies (website says 700, they've probably got 3000), tracks featured here can also be found on the Tigerbeat6 Inc. 2cd compilation (save for a sneaky bonus Kid 606 track). This miniature, fuck-withable vinyl edition features D84 (aka Bevin Blechdom), Dwayne Sodahberk, com.a, Nut'n'Honey, Kevin Blechdom, Fossil and the aforementioned Kid (two tracks here).

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Third in the "Insound Tour Support" series of budget cds, this collection features mainly (only?) side-projects from members of June of 44 including Doug Scharin's H.I.M., Jeff Mueller solo, and Fred Erskine's Dueling Hearts...

Live performances culled from memorable KZSU hip hop shows -- Fugees, Wu-Tang, Redman, Bustah Rhymes, OC, more...

Itchin' for some totally trashy garage rawk? Look no further! A total labor of love, this compilation record has been in the works since it was recorded back in '89 at the Purple Onion here in SF. The man behind it is Tom Guido, whose entertaining typewritten story of the entire process fills practically every inch of the record's fold-out photocopied sleeve... old snapshots of the shows fill up the rest. Seven obscure live tracks from the infamous Mummies, Gaping Wounds (featuring He Who Cannot Be Named of the Dwarves), Wild Breed, Carnaby Street Lamp Post, Driving Wheels, Pussy Hounds and Vanilla Whores. Ultra raw and super lo-fi with plenty of shrieks and howls. Limited pressing of 777.

Another Sutro Park vinyl release of some authentic down home blues, a set recorded in 1971 at a moonshine shack in rural Tennessee, apparently never before released. Featured artists include Lattie "The Wolf" Murrell and William Floyd Davis, along with their host, the anonymous bootlegger!! And a bunch of other unknown folks, customers who came for the bootlegger's illegal liquor and stayed to add their voices to the night's impromptu festivities, fortunately recorded for posterity by interested 'white folks' (young Swedish blues documentarian Bengt Olsson). Tracks include such blues standards as "Spoonful" and "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", with a few also specifically alluding to drinkin' and booze. So grab a can, bottle or jug of whatever's yer poison and kick back with this archival time capsule of a damn good time being had on a Saturday night in '71. Includes entertaining liner notes on the sleeve that also help to bring the scene to life, as does Cameron Forsley's cover drawing, though the music sez it all anyway.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. The second in this series of unknown local electronica technicians dropping funky drum & bass breaks and abstract skitter with lots of socially minded word play.

Cool showcase of awesome live action that has gone down at The Smell, the legendary all-ages venue in Los Angeles. Features the likes of No Age, High Places, Health, Abe Vigoda, Gowns, and more.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

Two disc set documenting live performances by Sutekh, Khan, Senking, Thomas Brinkmann, Kit Clayton, Monolake and Noto among many others.

Compilation of live performances of touring bands at Chico's 'The Blue Room.' Includes such AQ faves as Stinking Lizaveta, Burning Airlines, Richard Buckner and Edith Frost.

Living Is Hard. Indeed. Truer words were never spoken. The plight of Africans in Britain in the beginning of the twentieth century, was indeed one of hardship and strife, of persecution and destitution of unspeakable violence and unfettered racism. And the songs on Living Is Hard perfectly capture the spirit of the time. The anger and resentment, but also the hope and happiness, the frustration of constant harassment and the dreams of something better. As the liner notes mention, these songs were a "disruptive late entry into the history of black music in Britain", a music that owes very little to any white listenership. A hybrid of African spirituals, blues and plantation songs, with hints of Carribean music, bits of highlife, mostly vocal, with minimal instrumentation, managing to be simultaneously complex and musically dense, but also simple and heartfelt. A few tracks are immediately recognizable as a sort of highlife blues, simple acoustic guitar and seemingly celebratory vocals, but much of the music on Living Is Hard, is truly unique, unlike anything we've ever heard, even as fans of wondrous and mysterious world musics, there are strange acapella tracks, where the rhythms are created from grunts and mumbles, the main vocal line, strangled and guttural, peppered with occasional percussion, some tracks have a Western folk vibe, even hinting at some Morricone-ish twang, others sounds a bit like doo wop, rich harmonies and gorgeous hummed melodies, but most of the tracks here are just vocal and percussion, chanting, crooning, call and response, voices sometimes rough and raw, sometimes smooth and silky, the rhythms backing them up ranging from simple and spare to dense and tribal, so varied and moving and simply wonderful. As with all Honest Jons releases, Living Is Hard is gorgeously packaged, with a thick book of liner notes, lots of photos, translations of the lyrics and more.

MPEG stream: Nitsi Koko
MPEG stream: Untitled
MPEG stream: Anadwofa
MPEG stream: Kuntum

We've been DYING for this. In pretty much every review of a grime or dubstep record, we lament the lack of decent releases, at least in the US. But for the last couple years, Portland based dubstep label Lo Dubs, has been (not so) quietly releasing 12" after 12" of crushing, bass heavy, dancefloor destroying modern dubstep from a whole new crop of dubsteppers. We managed to get a handful of each of the 12"s, never really enough to review, but the wait was worth it, now ALL of those 12"s are compiled on this here double cd. One disc mixed, the other a collection of all the 12"s, both completely kick ass. Very few of the names are recognizable, unless you're already a little dubstep obsessed, well, except Nadja, more on that in a second, but half the names here are becoming fast favorites, South3rn, Starkey, Pacheko, all have taken the dubstep template and cranked it up, added their own style. This isn't nearly as laid back as a lot of dubstep, this stuff is hard, the beats dense and heavy, the atmospheres ominous, lots of buzz and rumble, plenty of lo-fi grit, the vibe is almost more like old school raga jungle, but all wrapped around that unmistakable dubstep stutter. And yeah Nadja / Aidan Baker completists, there is indeed a Nadja dubstep remix here, perpetrated by the legendary Vex'd, however, the original is barely recognizable, all the crush and buzz of the original is buried beneath Vex'd's brutal beat, sick synth swells, and all sorts of grinds and beeps, the end result is just as intense and brutal as a Nadja track, but rendered in electronics and beats. Awesome. But then, pretty much every track here is a killer, from dubbed out reggae, to robotic electro, to skeletal groove, super raw synthed out basslines wrapped around jagged dubbed out beats, alien effects, Jamaican style toasting, tons of buzz and weird skittery groove, anyone who has been digging dubstep at all NEEDS this. If you loved Milanese, Burial, Venetian Snares, the Box Of Dub comps, then this is for you...

MPEG stream: Dementia
MPEG stream: Fully Loaded
MPEG stream: Alien In My Own SKin (Vex'd RMX)

MPEG stream: My Dad's A Fucking Alcoholic
MPEG stream: Nazis In My Neighborhood
MPEG stream: Twist & Burn
MPEG stream: Forced Away
MPEG stream: Cops Are Punks

We knew we could count on Numero Group for an especially cool Record Store Day release. This year, it's another volume in Numero's Local Customs series. They delved into the vaults of Cleveland, Ohio pressing plant Boddie, a place where local acts took their tunes for private pressings from the late '60s through the mid '80s, and turned up some amazing gems indeed. And the even better news is, that while it's a limited release, we still have a few! The rare tracks here, by such unknown artists as Jus' Us, Los Nombres, Slippery When Wet (not a Bon Jovi cover band!), Bill Spoon, The Defaulters, The Harmonics, The Donations, Love For Dollars And Cents, Hot Chocolate, The Basement, Wicked Lester (not, we're pretty sure, the KISS-related Wicked Lester), and more, tend mostly towards steamy soul, raw funk and smooth disco, yet there's lots of surprises. Wicked Lester's fuzzed out, uptempo garage grunt is one of those highlights for us, along with Russell Potter's solo steel string guitar stylings, in a Fahey/Takoma mode. The indie pop plod of Donald Eckert's druggily dismal "Play It Slow" would be another one. Oh, and the dour electronic new wave beats of Berlin West. But never fear, there's plenty of sunshiney soul to pep things up throughout. In fact, even a song called "Soul and Sunshine" by the wonderfully named Harvey & The Phenomenals. Rather extravagantly, Numero released this on not only cd and lp, but also cassette tape! Each differently, and appropriately titled (Burned, Pressed, and Dubbed, respectively). You get 17 tracks on the cd and cassette, 18 on the double vinyl, which also comes with a 18"x24" poster. We have only a tiny handful of the cassettes left, and not really that many more of the other two formats, either... "All formats have the same liner notes and discography (font sizes vary)." Those liner notes are quite interesting, all about Boddie though, not the artists. And the discography (everything Boddie ever pressed/burned/dubbed, pretty much) is very, very long.

MPEG stream: Loving You
MPEG stream: Woman You're Gonna Pay For This
MPEG stream: Funky Music
MPEG stream: Play It Slow

This new Numero Group comp and we assume new series of comps, is like the inversion of the Eccentric Soul series in that instead of a small regional record label head honing in on a key stable of talent, this is about a custom studio that invited its local community to record their own songs and music. Felton Williams started his Double U Studio in Ecorse, Michigan, a small suburb downriver from Detroit in 1967 (it lasted until 1981). With a knack for home built electronics and instruments, his studio was open to anyone who wanted to cut a record, and with Motown changing the course of soul music just upriver, he had a lot of takers. But unlike other custom record presses, Williams would own the publishing rights and release the records on a series of labels, Revival, Compose, Cass and Solid Rock, acting as a kind of Alan Lomax figure in hopes of recording vital regional talent for cultural prosperity. Luckily, Williams had a nearby pool of talent in his local church and the bulk and the best parts of this comp focuses on the amazing gospel soul sounds that came out of this studio. Though there's also soul, funk, jazz and even some garage rock cuts too, it's the gospel cuts that are worth the price of admission and anyone who's been digging the Mississippi Record gospel comps, should look here too, because there are some monster jams from Shirley Ann Lee, Bobby Cook and The Explosions and the beautifully named Deliverance Echoes. Can I get an Amen!

MPEG stream: There's A Light
MPEG stream: Sinner Man
MPEG stream: Untitled
MPEG stream: Footstumpin'
MPEG stream: Heaven

We knew we could count on Numero Group for an especially cool Record Store Day release. This year, it's another volume in Numero's Local Customs series. They delved into the vaults of Cleveland, Ohio pressing plant Boddie, a place where local acts took their tunes for private pressings from the late '60s through the mid '80s, and turned up some amazing gems indeed. And the even better news is, that while it's a limited release, we still have a few! The rare tracks here, by such unknown artists as Jus' Us, Los Nombres, Slippery When Wet (not a Bon Jovi cover band!), Bill Spoon, The Defaulters, The Harmonics, The Donations, Love For Dollars And Cents, Hot Chocolate, The Basement, Wicked Lester (not, we're pretty sure, the KISS-related Wicked Lester), and more, tend mostly towards steamy soul, raw funk and smooth disco, yet there's lots of surprises. Wicked Lester's fuzzed out, uptempo garage grunt is one of those highlights for us, along with Russell Potter's solo steel string guitar stylings, in a Fahey/Takoma mode. The indie pop plod of Donald Eckert's druggily dismal "Play It Slow" would be another one. Oh, and the dour electronic new wave beats of Berlin West. But never fear, there's plenty of sunshiney soul to pep things up throughout. In fact, even a song called "Soul and Sunshine" by the wonderfully named Harvey & The Phenomenals. Rather extravagantly, Numero released this on not only cd and lp, but also cassette tape! Each differently, and appropriately titled (Burned, Pressed, and Dubbed, respectively). You get 17 tracks on the cd and cassette, 18 on the double vinyl, which also comes with a 18"x24" poster. We have only a tiny handful of the cassettes left, and not really that many more of the other two formats, either... "All formats have the same liner notes and discography (font sizes vary)." Those liner notes are quite interesting, all about Boddie though, not the artists. And the discography (everything Boddie ever pressed/burned/dubbed, pretty much) is very, very long.

MPEG stream: Loving You
MPEG stream: Woman You're Gonna Pay For This
MPEG stream: Funky Music
MPEG stream: Play It Slow

For the second edition of their Local Customs series, The Numero Group dig deep into the heart of Beaumont, Texas and uncover a regional archive of dusty, sunscorched sounds from Lowland Studios. Operating from the late sixties to the early seventies and barely surviving even in the best of times, the studio recorded a wide range of local flavor from a tight knit scene of bands for small independent labels. The 22 tracks here fall into primarily three groups: Heavy southern-fried boogie rock, Crosby Stills and Nash-ish folk, and nascent Yacht Rock, even though we're sure no one here had a yacht to rock out on. While some tracks on here aren't necessarily our cup of tea, it's hard not to get caught up in the music when the Numero Group has done such an amazing job of documenting the history of this scene, with thorough liner notes, a family tree of players and bands and lots of cool photos. A really fancy package. We like the boogie stuff best, especially the bands Boot Hill and D.O.A. (and they look awesome too!). But then there's the final song by Donald Thomas called "Black Night Is Calling Me Home" with its too-high-in-the-mix vocalised guitar riff, a real hoot! Some of us here gonna get this just for that. We're sure anyone into classic rock from 1970-77 featuring dudes with long hair and mustaches singing about their ladies (think Molly Hatchet, Little Feat, Audience, CSN, BTO, Ten Wheel Drive, etc.) will probably find lots to like here. Though all we could think about while listening to this is: MORE COWBELL!!!!!

MPEG stream: Trash One
MPEG stream: Lady Tell Me Why
MPEG stream: Where's Love Gone Today
MPEG stream: No Control
MPEG stream: Black Night Is Calling Me Home

We knew we could count on Numero Group for an especially cool Record Store Day release. This year, it's another volume in Numero's Local Customs series. They delved into the vaults of Cleveland, Ohio pressing plant Boddie, a place where local acts took their tunes for private pressings from the late '60s through the mid '80s, and turned up some amazing gems indeed. And the even better news is, that while it's a limited release, we still have a few! The rare tracks here, by such unknown artists as Jus' Us, Los Nombres, Slippery When Wet (not a Bon Jovi cover band!), Bill Spoon, The Defaulters, The Harmonics, The Donations, Love For Dollars And Cents, Hot Chocolate, The Basement, Wicked Lester (not, we're pretty sure, the KISS-related Wicked Lester), and more, tend mostly towards steamy soul, raw funk and smooth disco, yet there's lots of surprises. Wicked Lester's fuzzed out, uptempo garage grunt is one of those highlights for us, along with Russell Potter's solo steel string guitar stylings, in a Fahey/Takoma mode. The indie pop plod of Donald Eckert's druggily dismal "Play It Slow" would be another one. Oh, and the dour electronic new wave beats of Berlin West. But never fear, there's plenty of sunshiney soul to pep things up throughout. In fact, even a song called "Soul and Sunshine" by the wonderfully named Harvey & The Phenomenals. Rather extravagantly, Numero released this on not only cd and lp, but also cassette tape! Each differently, and appropriately titled (Burned, Pressed, and Dubbed, respectively). You get 17 tracks on the cd and cassette, 18 on the double vinyl, which also comes with a 18"x24" poster. We have only a tiny handful of the cassettes left, and not really that many more of the other two formats, either... "All formats have the same liner notes and discography (font sizes vary)." Those liner notes are quite interesting, all about Boddie though, not the artists. And the discography (everything Boddie ever pressed/burned/dubbed, pretty much) is very, very long.

MPEG stream: Loving You
MPEG stream: Woman You're Gonna Pay For This
MPEG stream: Funky Music
MPEG stream: Play It Slow

"Locations Volume One" is the first in a series from the Chain Tape Collective, a global community of field recordings artists who actively explore the indigenous sounds around them and apply any number of compositional techniques to those field recordings. I've never heard of any of these artists before, except for San Francisco's Matt Davignon, who has been responsible for some interesting experimental music events throughout the Bay Area and had coordinated the release of this album. The end results are far from the purist field recordings of Chris Watson or Douglas Quin; rather, all of the artists revel in digital tricknology which punctuates the various recordings of water, rain, geese, crickets, etc. Thus, it's not uncommon to hear bursts of crowd noise, or obvious varispeed manipulation, or erratic, Mego-like digital mulching, or mechanical concrete loops. In the liner notes, each artist offers his thoughts and insights into the contexts of the recordings and all the gear that went into making the pieces. MPEG Download: PETR DOLAK "In The Shade of Jan Hus" [/audio/petrdolakintheshade.mp3]

MPEG stream: In The Shade of Jan Hus

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. 17 tracks from South American stoner rock bands, including Buffalo and Los Natas.

Inspired by his plentiful good times spent down in Sydney, Australia, DJ Tom Thump has compiled a double cd mix of twenty two tracks. One disc is appropriately titled 'Get Up', and the other 'Get Down'. Included are tracks by Playgroup, Chicken Lips, Frankie Knuckles, Cordovan, Makossa & Megablast, Julius Papp & Charles Spencer, Hideo Kobayashi & Pheeko Dubfunk, Chuck Love, Loopwreckas, Salvo, Shrift, and many more. You don't need to travel abroad to put this mix to good use as your own late night soundtrack to some randy loose'n'lively action.

MPEG stream: Livin' At Night
MPEG stream: What U Need

Dust-To-Digital does it again! With what might be one of their most impressive releases to date. Which is saying a lot, considering how much we love pretty much everything they release. A quick list of some of our favorite D-T-D releases should give you an idea of what we're talking about: those recent Lonnie Holley albums, Kassidat: Raw 45's from Morocco, Luk Thung: Classic & Obscure 78's From The Thai Countryside, Opika Pende: Africa At 78rpm, Pictures Of Sound, Excavated Shellac, Victrola Favorites, we could go on and on and on and on. Look up any of those on the aQ site and read our extensive and effusive ravings about all of them. And this new one, a sprawling four cd collection of 78s from Southeast Asia, is yet another stunning release, in every way, the mysterious and lovely music collected here, the design, the research, it's a gorgeous object on top of being one of the best reissue compliations of the year. Curated by David Murray, who also assembled the Luk Thung and Kassidat collections, and who curates the Haji Maji blog, which explores 78rpm Asian music, Longing For The Past is like a class in early 20th century Southeast Asian music in a box, 90 tracks, four and a half hours, the music culled from the years 1905-1966, and offering up an expansive and varied sonic snapshot of music from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The temptation is to simply paraphrase the extensive liner notes, but there's just too much here to fit into a review. We're also tempted to describe this compilation song by song, but again, we could do a whole list just on this one release. All you really need to know, is that this is fantastic. The music is incredible, an breathtaking sampling of Southeast Asian music, fans of the genre, even those who consider themselves amateur experts, will be blown away, many of these tracks reissued for the first time, and the sonic breadth is stunning too, folk music, pop music, gamelans, percussion, strings, gorgeous vocals, so varied that it almost seems too reductive to even describe a handful of them, odds are lots of aQ-ers are gonna want this already, but check out the sound samples below too. Odds are you'll be smitten. And in terms of cultural import, that can't be underestimated, as much about the music of this era, from this region, has remained mostly unexplored before now. And as with all Dust-To-Digital releases, the packaging is crazy. There's a huge nearly 300 page hardcover book, with tons of liner notes, about the record industry in Southeast Asia, music from each country, and a complete breakdown of each track here, with a description of the artist and the song, not to mention an extensive bibliography, as well as hundreds of vintage photographs, reproductions of record labels and sleeves, and so much more. The cds themselves are packaged in a massive 8 panel digisleeve, printed and embossed, and everything is then housed in a deluxe printed/embossed box. So gorgeous. And for world music obsessives, absolutely essential!! MPEG Stream: VAN HI BAN WITH THE VAN HI BAN TROUPE "Xu Toi Bang Qui Phi, Thu Nhi" [/audio/valngngftpst4cddtd1.m3u]

MPEG stream: Gap Pa Pheng
MPEG stream: Teb Bantom
MPEG stream: Khmer Kroak
MPEG stream: Lam Khaen
MPEG stream: Hnit Kan Pyaing Hpuza
MPEG stream: Shit Hkan Palin
MPEG stream: Ile-Ile
MPEG stream: Lagu Daerah Sumatera
MPEG stream: Kitjir Kitjir

Ahh, Thrill Jockey. Bringing us well behaved musical goodies for over 13 years, Chicago's indie label celebrates their 100th release with this dvd. Conceptualized by label owner, Bettina Richards, Looking For A Thrill asks one question of 112 musicians. The question? What was your defining musical moment of inspiration? Recollections featured include those from Mike Watt, Thurston Moore, Hamid Drake, Bjork, Yo La Tengo, Tortoise, Trans Am, Jon Spencer, Vic Chestnutt, Fred Anderson, Giant Sand, as well as members of... oh just buy that damn thing and watch for yourself! It's a great collection. Great editing by Ian Williams (Battles / Don Caballero / Storm And Stress). Over five hours of mostly interesting rock reminiscence and recollection. ----* ----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed : ----* If you want to order one of these, just cut and paste the info into the comments area on the order form, or just email mailorder@aquariusrecords.org. AESOP ROCK "Fast Cars, Danger, Fire And Knives" (Definitive Jax) cd 17.98 AGF / DELAY "Explode" (AGF) cd 15.98 ALBATROSS NOTE "The Dracula E.P." (Trillium Press) 9" 20.00 ALOG "Miniatures" (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98 AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD "Worlds Apart" (Interscope) cd 14.98 AYLER, ALBERT "Live On The Riviera" (ESP-Disk) cd 14.98 BIG BUSINESS "Head For The Shallow" (Hydrahead) cd 14.98 BLACK LEOTARD FRONT "Casual Friday" (DFA) 12" 6.98 BY THE END OF TONIGHT "A Tribute To Tigers" (Temporary Res) cd 14.98 CHARLEBOIS, ROBERT "Avec Louise Forestier" (Unidisc Music) cd 13.98 COLD BLACK HEAT "It's Magnificent, But It Isn't War" (Family Vineyard) cd 14.98 CURRAN, ALVIN "Canti Illuminati" (Fringes Archive) cd 21.00 DAVE GLEASON'S WASTED DAYS "Midnight, California" (Dollar Record Records) lp 11.98 DREAM DEATH "Back From The Dead" (Penance Music) cd 14.98 DROP THE LIME "This Means Forever" (Tigerbeat 6) cd 14.98 ELUVIUM "Talk Amongst The Trees" (Temporary Res) cd 14.98 ERICKSON, ROKY "I Have Always Been Here Before" (Shout! Factory) 2cd 29.00 FAITHFULL, MARIANNE "Before The Poison" (Anti) cd 15.98 FAY, BILL GROUP "Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow" (Durtro / Jnana) cd 14.98 FIELD MICE, THE "For Keeps" (LTM) cd 17.98 FIELD MICE, THE "Skywriting" (LTM) 2cd 17.98 FIELD MICE, THE "Snowball" (LTM) cd 17.98 GEIST, MORGAN "Unclassics" (Environ) cd 16.98 HALF-HANDED CLOUD "Thy Is A Word + Feet Need Lamps" (Asthmatic Kitty) cd 14.98 HALL OF FAME "Paradise Now" (The Special Registry) cd 14.98 HARMONIC 33 "Music For Film, Television & Radio Volume One" (Warp) cd 16.98 HARPER, ROY "Bullinamingvase" (Science Friction) cd 17.98 HARPER, ROY "Flat Baroque And Berserk" (Science Friction) cd 17.98 HARPER, ROY "Folkjokeopus" (Science Friction) cd 17.98 HECKER, MAXIMILLIAN "Lady Sleep" (Kitty-Yo) cd 16.98 HITCHCOCK, ROBYN "Spooked" (Yep Roc) cd 16.98 HORTICULTURAL COMPASS "The Apparition Of Bees" (Jewelled Antler) cd-r 9.98 IKEDA, RYOJI "Formula" (Forma) cd + dvd 39.00 IMPALED "Death After Life" (Century Media) cd 12.98 IN SLAUGHTER NATIVES "Resurrection: the Return of a King" (Cold Meat Industry) cd 19.98 JUDAS PRIEST "Angel Of Retribution" (Sony) cd/cd + dvd 17.98/24.00 KOHNCKE, JUSTUS "Doppelleben" (Kontakt) cd 16.98 LADD, MIKE "Negrophilia [The Album]" (Thirsty Ear) cd 16.98 LCD SOUNDSYSTEM "Yr City's A Sucker" (DFA) 12" 6.98 LILES, ANDREW "New York Doll" (Infraction) cd 17.98 LIMITED EXPRESS / EXPERIMENTAL DENTAL SCHOOL "Experimental Express Explorer" (Deleted Art) 7" 8.98 M83 "Don't Save Us From The Flames" (Gooom / Mute) cd ep 8.98 MACLEAN, JUAN "I Robot / Less Than Human" (DFA) 10" 6.98 MAGMA "Concert Bobino 1981" (Seventh / AKT) dvd 26.00 MAKOTO, KAWABATA "Inui.3" (VHF) cd 13.98 MATTHEWS, ERIC "Six Kinds Of Passion Looking For An Exit" (451) cd 14.98 MONTAG "Alone, Not Alone" (Gooom / Carpark) cd 14.98 MU "Out Of Breach (Manchester's Revenge)" (Output) cd 16.98 MY CAT IS AN ALIEN "Through The Reflex Of The Rain" (Free Porcupine) cd 14.98 NAGISA NI TE "Dream Sounds" (Jagjaguar) cd 14.98 NEW IDEA SOCIETY "You Are Awake Or Asleep" (Magic Bullet) cd 14.98 OATHEAN "Fading Away Into The Grave Of Nothingness" (The End) cd 11.98 OKLAND, NILS "Bris" (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98 OLD GRANDAD "Hocus Corpus" (Double Down) cd 12.98 PATTON, MIKE / X-ECUTIONERS "General Patton Vs. X-ecutioners" (Ipecac) cd 15.98 PEDESTRIAN "Volume One: Unindian Songs" (Anticon) cd 14.98 PHAZM "Hate At First Seed" (Osmose) cd 11.98 PREKOP, SAM "Who's Your New Professor" (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98 PRIMORDIAL "The Gathering Wilderness" (Metal Blade) cd 15.98 SATWA "s/t" (Time-Lag) cd/lp 15.98/ 17.98 SCREAMING TREES "Clairvoyance" (Hall Of Records) cd 14.98 SHAPE OF DESPAIR "Illusion's Play" (Spikefarm) cd 16.98 SHINING "In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster" (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98 SMEGMA "Rumblings" (Hanson) cd 14.98 SOLE "Live From Rome" (Anticon) cd/lp 14.98/14.98 SOLEX + M.A.E. "In The Fishtank 13" (Konkurrant) cd 11.98 SONS OF OTIS "X" (Small Stone) cd 14.98 SPACE: 1999 "OST" (Silva) cd 16.98 STARZ "Attention Shoppers!" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STARZ "Coliseum Rock" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STARZ "s/t" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STARZ "Violation" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STEREOLAB "Switched On" (Too Pure) cd 13.98 SUBARACHNOID SPACE "The Red Veil" (Strange Attractors Audio House) cd 13.98 SUN RA "Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 3 - The Lost Tapes" (ESP-Disk) cd 14.98 TARENTEL "Big Black Square" (Temporary Res) cd 9.98 TARENTEL "Paper White" (Temporary Res) cd 9.98 TEXTURES "Polars" (Listenable) cd 14.98 THIEVERY CORPORATION "The Cosmic Game" (ESL Music) cd 16.98 TODD, MIA DOI "Manzanita" (Plug Research) cd 16.98 TREMBLING BLUE STARS "The Seven Autumn Flowers" (Bar None) cd 15.98 UCHIHASHI, KAZUHISA & TATSUYA YOSHIDA "Improvisations" (Magaibutsu) 2cd 18.98 V/A "Camping" (Bpitch Control) cd 15.98 V/A "Grime 2" (Rephlex) cd/2lp 15.98/17.98 V/A "Sleeping In The Market: Ethiopian Music & Sounds From Amhara" (Latitude) cd 14.98 V/A "Spire: Live In Geneva Cathedral - Saint Pierre" (Touch) 2cd 19.98 V/A "Team Kitty-Yo" (Kitty-Yo) cd 16.98 VANDER, CHRISTIAN "Un Homme... Une Batterie" (Seventh Records) dvd 26.00 _______________________________________________________________________ ABOUT MAILORDER

MPEG stream: The Angels Of Ashes
MPEG stream: Hangman And The Papist
MPEG stream: The Ride
MPEG stream: Runes And Men

Lords Of Chaos, the definitive book on the whole Norwegian black metal scene, heavily focused on all that church burning, band mate murdering drama, that made an otherwise grim and cult a household dinner party topic, even amongst folks usually averse to metal and murder and mayhem. This two disc companion seems the be more thematically linked to the book, featuring tracks by many of the bands, while more interestingly tracing a history of occult music from the blues to seventies prog to industrial, eighties metal to underground subversive soundtracks to the current crop of corpse painted black metal warriors. It's an awesome introduction for the black metal newbie for sure, featuring tracks from Bathory, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor, Ulver, Thorns, Abruptum and of course Venom, the godfathers of black metal. But it's way more than that. The first disc especially is jam packed with haunting, mysterious, metal and occult classics. Aleister Crowley, recorded on wax cylinder, invoking Satan, Robert Johnson (he did make a deal with the devil after all!), an awesome creepy classic prog jam from Coven, of course Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath", more amazing flute flecked prog from Black Widow, whose demonic elements seem to be more thematic, but a killer jam nonetheless, some creepy cinematic ambience from Manson Family member Bobby Beausoleil (whose remarkable Lucifer Rising 4lp box we reviewed recently), maybe the biggest surprise, an 11 minute chunk of electronic looped weirdness from someone called Mick J (we'll go out on a limb and say it's actually Mick Jagger!), that we listen to over and over, Venom's classic "Black Metal" (of course!), then Mercyful Fate, Sodom, Hellhammer, finallty some industrial stuff, Monte Cazazza, Genesis P-Orridge and Psychic TV, as well as some goofy organ music from the high priest himself, Anton LaVey. The second disc is where you'll find all the black metal, but also a rare track from Italian horror metallers Death SS, and some other random evil occult weirdness from White Stains, Electric Hellfire Club and Peter H. Gilmore, acting high priest of the Church Of Satan. Killer stuff, super varied, and easy to enjoy even if you haven't read Lords Of Chaos. Comes with a massive book, featuring a brief history of occult rock, a bit about all the artists and performers, plenty of pix, as well as an introduction by Michael Moynihan, author of Lords Of Chaos. Definitely essential, even for someone who is well familiar with most of these artists, plays like the coolest 'evil occult' mix tape any one could ever make you. These have been tough to get, so if we run out, please be patient while we order more from overseas, best to grab one now while you can...

MPEG stream: The Pentagram
MPEG stream: The Portrait
MPEG stream: Sacrifice
MPEG stream: In The Temple Of The Moon
MPEG stream: Invocation Of My Demon Brother

While we haven't had the the opportunity to list very many of his works, we have listed a few, and it should be obvious from those reverent reviews that some folks here at aQ are big, big fans of Harold Budd's special brand of ambient artistry. Just take a look at our write up of Budd's most recent opus, In The Mist: "Forget about the Pop Ambient series, and other modern dreamy music makers, when it comes to simply stunning, calming and beautiful sounds it just doesn't get better than Harold Budd." But of course, we ARE also huge fans of the Kompakt label's ongoing Pop Ambient compilation series (and by saying we, that probably includes you). So, that's why this new release (on a label distributed by Kompakt) is so perfect and makes for a great Record Of The Week, as it brings together a host of current electronic/ambient/lowercase artists, including AQ faves like Biosphere, Xela, and Deaf Center, all paying tribute to Budd. But, it really wouldn't matter at all if you've never heard any Harold Budd before, we'd recommend this as much as any Pop Ambient comp, and that's a big recommendation indeed. Lost In The Humming Air (that title referring perhaps to one of Budd's own inspirations, the telephone wires humming in the wind out in the Mojave Desert where he lived) has become our current go-to disc for our falling-to-sleep-music needs, and as always we mean that in a good way. Budd, originally an avant garde academic composer back in the '60s who went on to ambient/new age glory in the '70s and beyond, collaborating with Brian Eno and others, certainly does have lots of devoted fans, who love his recordings of atmospheric, usually piano-based bliss... Many of those fans are musicians too, for whom the music of Budd is a touchstone, and who got the good idea of doing this disc, with profits being donated to Budd's favorite charity. The thirteen recordings here aren't necessarily specific interpretations of Budd's own music, but are pieces inspired and informed (perhaps even moreso than usual for these artists) by Budd's aesthetic, making references to his work, from opening cut "Plateaux" by Deaf Center, with its drifting deep dark bass drones and exquisite, sparse piano... all the way through to the end of the disc, Brock Van Wey's collaboration with his mother, pianist, Criss Van Wey on the elegiac "My Father, My Friend". Along the way, there's plenty of glimmering drones and muted melodies, and even a gently pulsating "Harold Dubb" from Mokira. Besides the names already mentioned, you'll find the following on here: Loscil, Martin Fuhs, Marsen Jules, Andrew Thomas, Christopher Willits, Taylor Deupree, Rafael Anton Irisarri, and Porn Sword Tobacco. We won't try to describe this track-by-track, suffice to say that each artist present reveals their own appreciation of Budd's special sort of ambience, and all share a soft, shimmering, swelling magic, so the listener will indeed be Lost In The Humming Air the whole way through...

MPEG stream: Plateaux
MPEG stream: untitled.eleven
MPEG stream: Harold Dubb
MPEG stream: Gloaming

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

2nd edition of a comp originally released in 1999, featuring 15 international noise/experimental artists doing one "loud" track and one "quiet" track apiece. Contributors include Otomo Yoshihide, Voice Crack, Kapotte Muziek, MSBR, TV Pow, Stillupsteypa, Kazumoto Endo, Shifts, Taku Sugimoto and Tetuzi Akiyama, Pita, Lasse Marhaug, and others. Interesting stuff, but the oversized envelope the discs come packaged in isn't too exciting (sez packaging snob, Allan).

[ aquarius records catalogue — V ]