Aquarius Records closed in 2016. This site is an archive — a place to rediscover their extraordinary music recommendations. Nothing here is for sale.
Showing results 1451 through 1500 of 3547.
V/AMinima-List(List)cd$ 14.98
The "Minima-List" compilation of contemporary electronic minimalism could have easily fallen into the banalities of so many of the microsound compilations. Fortunately, the new French label List had enough sense to put together a collection that celebrates the
V/AMinistry of Shit(Spasticated)cd$ 12.98
Just what the world needs right? ANOTHER electronica compilation. Well, you might actually need just one more. A few household names Knifehandchop, Wobbly, Kevin Blechdom but mostly unknowns (at least to us) this is a wild and wooly, fun and funky, mashed up pisstake of all things MTV and top 40 radio. The sound is glitched out, punishing, big beat, dancehall, drill and bass madness, but the songs are all (barely) recognizable chunks of hits you know and love (or hate). And as much as maybe I wasn't prepared to, I ended up digging this a lot. And listening to it all the time. A sped up/chopped up version of that Eminem song from Eight Mile, Old Dirty Bastard and Mya's Ghetto Superstar with a DHR dancehall makeover, Madonna's James Bond theme run through the sonic shredder and tons more. Pretty fucking great!
V/AMisery Loves Company(Ersatz Audio)cd$ 13.98
I think this marks the official end of the electro revival. When the usually stellar, true electro vets like Ersatz Audio start releasing diluted, pale imitations, it's a sad sad day. With labels like Ministry Of Sound capitalizing on the electronic pop genre (which by the way, is a much broader and fitting tag for a lot of the current hip sounds that are being lumped excessively and incorrectly under the genre "electro". Ladytron, The Faint, Le Tigre, Peaches and Fischerspooner are NOT electro!) with K-Tel style compilations like "This Is Tech-Pop", everyone is trying to get in on the money-making action. Releases from this label are always eagerly anticipated with high expectations, but everything on this (except possibly the DMX Krew track that jumps out of the pack, highly reminiscent of Devo here!) sounds tired and weak. There's no spark or sense of excitement. The normally irrepressible Gold Chains' contribution is titled "Could Care Less"... and it sounds like it (actually it sounds like he's gone all beat poet!). What the heck's goin' on!? The songs just drag, and even the Adult. track is wack! And, trust me, I really, really like Adult. A lot. Maybe I've become jaded, but I know my tolerance for repetitive electronic pop is higher than most here at AQ. Boo, Ersatz, boo. Very disappointing.
V/AMiss Kittin On The Road(Terminal M)cd$ 16.98
Miss Kittin, as huge as she has become in just the past few months, has decided to treat her salivating fans with a continuous mix of some of her favorite techno house tracks (and, of course, two tracks featuring herself -- a remix of Miss Kittin & The Hacker's "Frank Sinatra" and Felix Da Housecat's "Silver Screen Shower Scene"). Also featuring Plastikman, Plaid, Laurent Garnier, Sven
V/AMission Two: Connecting Electronix Network(Nature)cd$ 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!!! This is a brilliant compilation of a lot of electronica outfits which are pretty obscure... Only V/VM and D'Archangelo are the really familiar artists here. Nonetheless, the tracks (which are mostly Italian in origin) share a similarity to Skam's or Rephlex's output of nu-skool electro and warped electronica. As a result we've been tracking down singles from A Credible Eye Witness, Phoenecia, and Vendor Refill.
V/AMission Voices(Southern Exposure)cd$ 8.98
This hiphop compilation is part of Horizons Unlimited, the San Francisco DJ project devoted to - as the cover states - "empowering youth through the arts". Students took the creative reins: writing, sampling, sequencing and mixing their own tracks as well as
V/AMississippi Blues 1927-1941(Yazoo)lp$ 17.98
V/AMobilisation Generale: Protest And Spirit Jazz From France 1970-1976(Born Bad / Digger's Digest)cd$ 16.98
There's been a recent upsurge in free jazz compilations documenting the creative upheaval that followed the revolutionary call for social justice in the sixties and seventies throughout Europe and America. There was the great Spiritual Jazz series, as well as the Flying Dutchman label Liberation music comp, and also another disc we haven't had a chance to review yet called Bridging The New Age which looks really great too. Hopefully we can review that one soon, but in the meantime, there is this new comp called Mobilisation Generale that documents the creative post-1968 revolution period in France. Back then, students were rioting and the whole country was practically on strike. While rock music may have been the protest soundtrack in America, in France, they were inspired by the American free-jazz of Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, and most notably the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The latter group's historic concert at the Theatre du Vieux Colombier in Paris opened many minds to a freer music made by a community of politically charged musicians unfettered by traditions and structures. The group went on to record music both with radical chanteuse Brigitte Fontaine and French black actor Alfred Panou (both included here), setting up a stage of free music that set to break boundaries musically throughout the seventies. Documenting the fertile period between 1970-1976 before punk and disco changed everything, Mobilisation Generale is a look into the radical underground made urgent through groundbreaking ideas and a vital communal need for change. Includes tracks by Brigitte Fontaine and Areski, Alfred Panou & The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Atarpop 73 & Le Collectif Le Temps Des Cerises. RK Nagati, Frederic Rufin & Raphael Lecomte, Francois Tusques, Mahjun, Full Moon Ensemble, Baroque Jazz Trio, Michel Roques, Chene Noir and Beatrice Arnac.
V/AModern Mayan: The Indian Music Of Chiapas, Mexico(Mississippi/Moi J'Connais)lp$ 16.98
***MISSISSIPPI ALERT***MISSISSIPPI ALERT*** Another one from the vaults, the vaults full of dusty but still vital 'world music', dug up by the discerning vinyl-lovers at the ever-expanding Mississippi label (and associates). This one's an lp of recordings made in the mid-seventies in Chiapas, Mexico. These 'modern Mayans' mix their indigenous, traditional folk music with some less-ancient, outside influences. There's folk guitar and trumpets, drums and flute, string ensembles and vocals... these varied tracks range from spiritual songs to lively dances. Another nice one for all you armchair travellers, courtesy of Mississippi. Comes in a "tip on" jacket with wrap around cover art/text, in the style of the old Folkways lps. And, there's liner notes.
V/AModular Systems(Eighteenth Street Lounge)cd$ 15.98
"Modular Systems" is the latest ESL compilation of trip hop from Thievery Corporation, Nicola Conte, Thunderball, Blue States, Ursula 1000, Desmond Williams, and a few other Thievery Corporation-like groups. This also features a few remixes from Thievery Corporation, was compiled by Thievery Corporation, and released on Thievery Corporation's label. For fans of Thievery Corporation.
V/AModulations and Transformations 4(Mille Plateaux)3cd$ 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. Mille Plateaux's 4th in the series is a weighty collection, serving as an encyclopedia of minimalist electronica... From the clinical pulsing of Philus (aka Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic) and Thomas Brinkmann... to the neo-jazz for iMac users from Mouse on Mars and Blue Byte... and back to the theory laiden clicks of Achim Wollscheid and M.Behrens. Also features Techno Animal, DJ Spooky, Kerosene, Pluramon, Ryoji Ikeda, Scanner, Thomas Koner, Panacea, Noto, Kim Kascone, Lithops, Gas, etc...
V/AMolam: Thai Country Groove From Isan(Sublime Frequencies)cd$ 14.98
I remember when the Butthole Surfers' Locust Abortion Technician came out, how blown away I was by the album. On top of all their own material, here was this totally weird song which they irreverantly looped over one word that happened to sound like an English vernacular term for female genitalia. Funny the first time through, I always wanted a copy of the original recording which the Surfers lifted that track from because I thought it just kicked ass in its own right. I know you think I'm gonna say that that song is on this collection. Sorry, it's not. But if you loved that song "Kuntz" for what it was (despite Gibby's juvenile chicanery), you'll definitely be excited by the Molam tracks on this disc. Compiled by Mark Gergis (I Remember Syria, Cambodian Cassette Archives, Neung Phak) from a multitude of sources -- LPs, 45s and cassettes -- this collection of Molam comes from a distinct window in Isan, Thailand history. Molam, which comes from the rural areas of Northeastern Thailand and neighboring Laos, was for many years generally charactarized by male and female vocals backed by the khaen (a free-reed mouth organ). Migrating rural Thai and Laotian people to the cities modernized their Molam with electric guitars, bass, drums and keyboards and the music spread like a fad to the urban population. Inevitably, through the ever changing nature of music, and the economically driven producers, the electronic keyboard surpassed the need for a band and the music was more often than not reduced to the standard pop that is ubiquitous throughout Thailand. This then is a time capsule of the glory days of molam gone electric. Fans of Neung Phak will be familiar with the track which begins this collection, as it's also the opening track of Neung Phak's debut. So those of you who thought Mark couldn't tune his bass can hear his alibi playing the original tune off key as is the style. Certainly fans of the Cambodian Rocks albums should take heed here, but will find a collection of tracks that are much more removed from Western rock. Firstly, there are no covers of rock songs, nor are the melodies here even related -- except by chance -- to Western pop. These are all traditional tunes that have merely been arranged with modern electric instrumentation (which isn't to say that you won't here any khaen on these tunes). It is the vocals though that are what really drive these songs, modernized or no. With melodies that seem utterly independent of what the band is playing, the lilting, almost yodelled, singing is unlike that of any other region in the world. Dare I say it's sultry. Oh so very highly recommended!!
V/AMolam: Thai Country Groove From Isan Vol. 2(Sublime Frequencies)cd$ 16.98
I know we went on about the Butthole Surfers when we reviewed the first volume in Sublime Frequencies' Thai Country Groove From Isan series. Hard not to, considering that most of us were first exposed to Thai music via the Buttholes, and their only slightly altered version of a classic Thai track. Minus some audio fuckery, the track was presented in its almost unaltered original form. And everyone we know loved that track, as much or more than the rest of the disc. At the time, none of the folks we knew really had any idea where to find more music like that.� Years later, the Sun City Girls' Sublime Frequency label, launched a totally kick ass series of compilations, gathering amazing and mysterious music from all over Asia, one of which focused on Molam Thai music, and while it didn't include THAT track, most of the tracks did sound quite similar, some even weirder and wilder... It ended up being one of our favorite discs in the ever expanding Sublime Frequencies sonic universe... until now! Volume two is simply more of the same, but more is what we wanted, every track a gem, some weird and wacked, some achingly beautiful, all awesome.� Quick background, Molam is the music that came from rural areas of Thailand and Laos, dueling female and male vocals, mouth organ, but as folks moved to the city, the music was modernized, incorporating the Western style rock band lineup, adding psychedelic fuzz guitar, electronic organ, and all manner of effects. The results are of course strange and wondrous, quirky, funky and super rocking, the guitars twang and buzz, strange little curlicues of melody, over relentless, propulsive grooves, the drums, simple and motorik, over the top, keyboards drift, and guitars occasionally explode into wild overdriven leads, before settling back into their strange convoluted melodic framework, horns moan and bleat, disco wah guitars drift over reggae like rhythms, but the vocals, wow! Much like in the first volume, it's the vocals that make it, they all seem to be singing variations of the vocal line in the Butthole Surfers' "Kuntz", that particularly sing songy lilt, sometimes spoken, other times wailed, always introducing their own melodies to the already melodically complex musical backdrop... so so so so good! Can't wait for volume three! (and while you're at it, check out the amazing�Ghost Of Isan: Thailand's Psychedelic Ghost Festival dvd, rife with breathtaking imagery, and more remarkable Molam sounds...)
V/AMollie's Mix(Kill Rock Stars)cd$ 4.98
The third in a series to help acquaint the public with the many and differing artists on Kill Rock Stars. All 3 feature a dog belonging to an employee at krs. This hella cheap sampler illustrates how great the past year or two has been at this label. Lets see here, there's the dirty rad danciness of Gravy Train!!! and The Goxxip (you may know them as the Gossip). The vintage sweetness of Slumber Party, the flawlessness of Deerhoof, I could go on and on. The other highlights are the Bangs, Stereo Total, Quix*o*tic, Unwound and the Tight Bros From Way Back When. There are a few tracks on here that are just awful, but that's sort of inevitable with most comps, altho' we're happy to report that on this here comp they're few and far between. The Gravy Train!!!, Goxxip, Sport Murphy, and Men's Recovery Project tracks are previously unreleased!!
V/AMolten Strings, Train Wrecks, And Birdsong(Students Of Decay)cd$ 12.98
Not sure we could've come up with a better comp if we had organized it ourselves. A tribute to the buzzing steel string, featuring a who's who of AQ faves: Birchville Cat Motel, Brothers Of The Occult Sisterhood, Peter Wright, C. Spencer Yeh, The North Sea, Robert Horton and more. Each band approaches the steel string in their own unique way, so much so that instead of bands creating music to go with the theme, bands who just inherently embody the theme were specifically chosen. Either way, this is a dandy little sampler of the current crop of string slinging free sound explorers. Creaking abstract reverb drenched soundscapes, peppered with metallic buzz, thick washes of downtuned distortion swirled into near static drones, dizzying assemblages of detuned guitars, random clatter and fluttering Renn Faire flutes, minimal industrial crunch and glitch, buzzing droning solo violin skree, deep cavernous washes of warm melodic sound, slippery slide guitars nestled in abstract smears of keening high end whir, simple near-traditional Appalachian guitar strum, murky fuzzed out blurry drifts of gristly reverberations, and some ear piercing high end sine wave screech, all in some way born of the steel string. Very nice!
V/AMoney Will Ruin Everything(Rune Grammofon)book + 2cd$ 45.00
Once again, right up front, be warned. We only got twenty of these and we were already told by our distributor that we will NOT be able to get more. Pity too, because this is an amazing compilation, gorgeous looking AND sounding. This definitive document of Norwegian improv/electronica/ambient/jazz/whatever label Rune Grammofon, a full sized, full color hardcover book / double cd compilation is the sort-of-sequel to the Love Comes Shining compliation from a few years back, and celebrates 5 years and thirty releases. The book, designed by Kim Hiorthoy, includes an interview with RG bossman Rune Kristofferson, essays from Rob Young of the Wire magazine and designer Adrian Shaugnessy, and features tons of album covers, sketches for covers, photos, and design elements that will no doubt be quite familiar to fans of the labels uniquely minimal aesthetic. It's all a little self congratulatory but what the hell, it's their party! The cds contain exclusive tracks from Supersilent, Biosphere, Alog, Food, Deathprod, Jaga Jazzist, Arve Henriksen, Kim Hiorthoy, Nils Okland, Phonophani, Archetti/Wiget, Lasse Marhaug, Information, Martin Horntveth, Fe-mail, Svalastog, Skyphone, Andre Borgen, Isak Anderssen, Stronen/Storlokken, Oivind Idso, Andreas Meland and Susanna and the Magical Orchestra as well as previously released tracks from SPUNK, Maja Ratkje, Tove Nilsen, Scorch Trio, Arne Nordheim, Jono el Grande and Monolight. Really good stuff. So act fast!
V/AMongolie: Chamanes Et Lamas(Ocora)cd$ 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
V/AMonster Skies(Dual Planet / Finder's Keepers / Monster Skies)lp$ 26.00
A 2014 Record Store Day collaboration between two amazing obscurity-obsessive labels, Finders Keepers and Dual Planet, Monster Skies features a dizzy collection of damaged library sounds, far-flung private press pop and early electronic strangeness. We've carried some of the Dual Planet releases, but have yet to review them, like the Australian electric weirdo space-funk-rock of Steve Maxwell Von Braund, who provides the titular song to this collection as well as the reclusive Italian guitarist and electronic composer, Teisco, who may be the most marginally strange of the Italian Library composers leaning more toward Bruce Haack than say, Egisto Macchi. Suzanne Cianni, Lucien Goethals and Val Stephen provide some scintillating musique concrete and electronic composition, while Don Harper, Philippe D'Aram, and Andrzej Korzynski bring some wonderfully brooding cinematic horror vibes to the table. Finally, Emerald Web, X-ray Pop, Clone and The Ultra Sonic Perception, give us some wonderfully sublime pop moments that buffer the oddities with wistful charm and eccentric groove. A fantastic collection and excellent introduction into a staggering undiscovered world of sound. Get one while they last!
V/AMonsters Of Mission Rock(Champagne & Cocaine)lp$ 19.98
Looks like all the longhaired, unwashed, hesher-y heavy/psych/metal rockerz in the Mish got together to jam out, having a good ol' time, celebrating the scene - hell yes, we've still got a dirty underground hard partying heavy rock contingent in the neighborhood, ubiquitous Google busses and their techie riders be damned! This vinyl-only comp, limited to 500 copies, contains tracks by some bands aQ customers already know and love, plus others ripe for discovery. Not all cuts are exclusive, but many are. Bands include: Hot Lunch, Ovvl, Buffalo Tooth, Wild Eyes, Hazzard's Cure, Hightower, Lecherous Gaze, Solar Stoner, Hornss, Ironwitch, Chrome Eagle, White Barons, War Child, Tiger Honey Pot, and Winter Teeth. Lots of stonery, punked-out boss tunage here, which is what SF needs more of, rather than astronomical rents, parklets, trendy restaurants and brogrammers. Rad cover art features naked witches and chopper-ridin' gorillas, with San Francisco landmarks Coit Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge worked into the background.
V/AMontreal Smoked Meat(Force Inc)cd$ 16.98
Hey Matmos, when was the last time you were in Montreal? Did you lose a powerbook there? It sure sounds like the kids in Montreal must have ransacked your gear taken all of the bits and pieces that didn't make it into "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure" or
V/AMoonfog 2000: A Different Perspective(Moonfog)2cd$ 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. Norway's most advanced "black metal" label has released a fairly amazing compilation here. Moonfog's incredibly elite roster contributes exclusive material: from the blackened thrash of Eibon (the supergroup containing members of Darkthrone, Mayhem, Necrophagia, Pantera/Viking Crown, and Satyricon making their recorded debut), to Dodheimsgard's mutation into the black metal techno of their new incarnation DHG, to the primitive country/punk black metal of legends Darkthrone (recorded at Necrohell Studios, otherwise known as their 4-track machine), to intense death/black brutality from Gehenna and Thorns, and more. 25 minutes on the cutting edge of Moonfog's vision. Absolutely essential to dedicated fans and adventurous newcomers (as well as the other way around), as this comp really runs the spectrum from classic raw stuff to sacrilegious trip-hop "black metal" 2000. And, as a kind of bonus, you also get a second disc collecting popular cuts by Moonfog bands, compiled by users of The Moonfog Dungeon (i.e. website). They're all previously released tracks, so this can be regarded as a handy mix of some black metal faves.
V/AMore Arctic Hysteria / Son Of Arctic Hysteria - The Later Years Of Early Finnish Avant-Garde(Love Records)cd$ 25.00
We've said it before, but let's say it again. WE LOVE FINLAND. We know you do too. That's why we get along so well. C'mon, Circle, Pharoah Overlord, Avarus, Anaksimadros, Paavaharju, Islaja, Kemialliset Ystavat, Aavikko, Doktor Kettu, Ektroverde, Es, Lau Nau, Kuupuu, Keuhkot, Kiila, Tiermes, Worms, Magyar Posse Pan Sonic, Uton, Thergothon, Skepticism, Finntroll, heck we could go on and on an on. And that's just the music. All the Finnish folks we know are amazing, the art and the films, the places, and don't get Andee started on Finnish pizza (the best thing I have ever eaten says Andee!!). So okay, we've established that we're all a little mad for things Finnish, especially music. Which goes a little toward explaining why we all dug the Arktinen Hysteria compilation of early experimental Finnish music from the 60's and 70's (now back in print and available again, by the way!). A perfect collection to help understand where the modern crop of Finnish experimental musicians were coming from. So maybe it was inevitable that there would be a second volume, this time covering the seventies, eighties and early nineties, and drawing an even more direct line between the above mentioned bands and their sonic forefathers. A glance at the cover, a photo of the group Reinin Myrkky (featuring a young Jimi Tenor) nude, heavily made up and all sporting tubas, is pretty much all it takes to convince you you're in for a wild ride. The tracks on this second volume are a bit more musical and a lot less primitive than the first volume, but no less strange and wonderful. From Pekka Streng's haunting psychedelic spoken word soundscapes to the Sun City Girlish avant garde folk of Karelia, to the skronky abstract jazz of the Samsa Trio, to the droning free jazz freakout of the Omar Williams Experience (sounding not a little bit like the No Neck Blues Band) to the award winning electronic experimentation of Osmo Lindeman and on and on. None of these names were at all familiar to us (outside of Pan Sonic's Mika Vainio, and Jimi Tenor, who before making it big with his cheesy easy listening music fronted a noisy industrial outfit!) but the sounds are amazing and perplexing and you can definitely hear glimpses here and there of what the musical future held for Finland, swooping analog synths, ominous space drones, full on analog synth freakout, Beefheartian jazz rock, rumbling droning free jazz skree, bizarre cabaret, pusling lo-fi proto-techno, haunting abstract ambience, Schwitters style vocalizations, gritty gauzy plunderphonic cut-ups and more! Includes a huge booklet with tons of photos, extensive liner notes as well as notes on each track, all in English this time!
V/AMore Delicious Spaghetti Western(Dago Red)cd$ 14.98
Second installment of collected Western movie soundtrack music. Morricone and others. Great for your next pasta-fueled gunslinging showdown.
V/AMore Dirty Laundry: The Soul Of Black Country(Trikont)cd$ 19.98
V/AMore Favela Booty Beats(Essay Recordings)12"$ 9.98
V/AMore Oar - A Tribute To The Skip Spence Album(Birdman)cd$ 14.98
On April 16, 1999, Skip Spence, eccentric genius and former member of Moby Grape, passed away. To honor the late songwriter, the Birdman mega-conglomerate has put together this all-star tribute album of covers from Spence's inspired and cultishly-revered 1969 solo album "Oar", with such notables as Tom Waits, Robert Plant (sounding as if he's fronting Tortoise with all thoses vibes behind him), Beck, Robyn Hitchcock, Flying Saucer Attack, Alastair Galbraith, Mudhoney, The Minus 5, Alejandro Escovedo, and many more!
V/AMorricone RMX(Cinesoundz / WEA)cd$ 17.98
It's a good thing none of the artists involved with this project are local to the Bay Area, cos I'd have to go buy a gun and shoot them for crimes against music. And not just any music, this is soundtrack music by the acknowledged genius Ennio Morricone, the one and only. Yes, Morricone sanctioned this project, but that doesn't mean it's going to turn out good -- it just means whoever We made a couple sound clips just for those of you with morbid curiousity.
V/AMortika - Recordings From A Greek Underworld(Mississippi)2lp box$ 22.00
Just when you think Mississippi Records releases can't get any cooler, along comes this deluxe 2lp boxset of Greek underground folk music, often referred to as Rembetika. What's Rembetika you may ask? Well, here's our description from a long out of print Rembetika cd collection: Rembetika music developed early in the 20th century amongst the poor habitants of Greece. Much like the American blues, these marginalized members of Greek society wrote songs about pain, death, prison (many of the rembetika musicians of this time were jailed merely for playing their music), drugs (the word "rembetika" is derived from "tekes", meaning hash den), sorrow, etc. Comparisons have even been drawn to Harlem of the same period. The music is centered around the bouzouki, a home grown lute invented by rembetika musicians, but can include baglama (a smaller bouzouki), santouri (dulcimer), lyra (or violin), guitar, oud, clarinet and vocals of course. One of the things that made their music so rich was the absorption of musical influences from around the Mediterranean. Two tragic events, both in 1922, helped add to this melange: a fire that consumed the city of Smyrna on the coast of Asia Minor forced the Greek inhabitants back to mainland Greece and the Greco-Turkish war, which caused massive shifting of populations. Both events saw a new influx of poor immigrants who added their distinctive styles and melodies to the form. By 1937 the Greek government, viewing the anti-authoritarian and Arab influenced sounds as a cultural and political threat, banned the music from being played on the radio, favoring instead the more mainstream Piraeus style of rembetika. These two lps contain an incredible selection of sounds from this important movement in Greek folk music, some of the songs are intricate and dramatic, others simple and stripped down, others festive and jubilant, the sound is a twangy gypsy folk, lilting and haunting and lyrical, the vocals are deep and crooned typically, but can slip into something much more keening, or even operatic, the music too is quite varied, often skeletal and spare, but can get quite intense and complex, but always melodic and quite beautiful and emotional. The two lps come housed in a printed box, and includes a bit booklet filled with photos, lyrics, as well as a history of the music and the musicians. So cool!!
V/AMotion: A Six Degrees Dance Collection(Six Degrees)cd$ 12.98
Boogie global techno style along with Bebel Gilberto, Banco De Gaia, King Britt, Romanthony, DJ Cam, and others.
V/AMotorlab #1(Kitchen Motors / Bad Taste)cd$ 15.98
In 2000, the Icelandic arts collective Kitchen Motors began organizing a series of monthly events which featured commissioned collaborations between artists from differing backgrounds. The first production is dominated by the presence of two of Iceland's most prolific experimental / electronic outfits Stilluppsteypa (who originate from Iceland but now live in the Netherlands) and Altogether a conceptually rich compilation that has been executed to near perfection. Hopefully the first of many interesting things to come!
V/AMotorlab #2(Kitchen Motors / Bad Taste)cd$ 15.98
The second installment from Kitchen Motor's series of cross-platform Icelandic collaborations takes a much more lively route than the previous collection of conceptual drone work featuring Stilluppsteypa and The Halfer Trio. The first collaborative effort is between Reykjavik's electronica darlings Mum and playwright Sjon. The script (all in Icelandic) is a monodrama about a housewife
V/AMottomo Otomo(Trost)cd$ 17.98
The Music Unlimited festival is a 3-day Austrian event focusing on all aspects of modern experimental music, from jazz to rock to classical. Since 1991, the festival's performers have been selected by different artists. In the past, Fred Frith, Zeena Parkins and Jon Rose have organised the festival. In 1999, Otomo Yoshihde (of Ground Zero) was the events programmer and he selected a remarkable selection of modern experimental music: Radian, the Incapacitants, Kaffe Matthews, Martin Tetreault, Novo Tono, Keith Rowe, Sugimoto Taku, Poire-Z, Hoahio and of course Otomo himself.
V/AMountain Music Of Kentucky(Smithsonian Folkways)2cd$ 22.00
This is not *really* a new item here at Aquarius, but we realised that even though we sell tons of these on a regular basis, we have never listed it. So we thought we'd mention its existence to those of you who might not have the oppurtunity to stumble across it in our bins. Mountain Music of Kentucky is a collection originally compiled by photographer John Cohen and released as a single LP in 1960. The CD reissue comes expanded to two discs, expanding the project a full 60 minutes. The recordings, all made in 1959, document the music of rural Kentucky -- specifically, the Appalachian mountains. Whether it's solo voice accompanied by guitar or a banjo or a full blown church choir, the tracks collected here are all fucking great and guaranteed to raise the hairs on your arms to rigid spikes. And if you don't have hair on your arms, you'll think you did. Among the most well represented (track wise) of the 14 artists on these two discs is AQ fave and kick ass banjo picker Roscoe Holcomb, who gets a healthy 22 cuts. But probably the most eerie and heart stopping tracks on this disc are the two tracks (a mere 12 minutes) of the Old Baptist Church which are powerful enough to put the fear of god into the most straight laced athiest. Includes a fat 36 page booklet with notes and gorgeous photos by John Cohen. This one comes very highly recommended.
V/AMr. Flash - Monsieur Sexe(Ed Banger)cd$ 21.00
In case the title and saucy cover art of a big red-lipped mouth didn't hammer it home, there is a note on the front of this import cd that says "contains sexually oriented adult material"... meaning plenty of orgasmic moaning and gasping. In French of course! That somehow always makes things seem all the more naughty! Andee sez this album was supposedly heartily endorsed by Playboy Magazine, and whether or not that's true, it makes total sense. All of the tracks on this compilation were selected by French DJ Mr. Flash (including three of his own). Amid the heavy breathing and sporadic dialogue, there are musical interludes that bring together grooovadelic downtown funk voluptuousness, Italo-symphonics, and kooky synthesizer melodies. Un peu d'erotique pour vous!
V/AMr. Toytown Presents Vol. 2: Nightmares at Toby's Shop(Toytown Recordings)cd$ 21.00
We can always enjoy a good compilation of "Obscure Psychedelic, Popsyke & Progressive Pop 45s 1968-1974". And that's what this disc's cover proclaims it to contain. 23 obscure singles cuts by artists most of whom we've never heard of before -- except for Chubby Checker! Who blows our minds (and will blow yours too) with a Hendrix influenced psych-funk-wah gem recorded in The Netherlands in 1971, whose refrain goes: "My mind comes from a high place!" That sure ain't "The Twist". The last ish of Ugly Things had an article about Chubby's rare psych sides and here you can hear one of 'em. But there's lots more cool stuff on this disc besides, from the dramatic garage-prog of Ekseption to the "kinderpop" psych of Cyan to the bubblegum novelty of Jumbo. Whether you like your psych twee or fuzz-ee, this has plenty of both. Another fave of ours on here is the cut by Kid Rock (nothing to do with the current-day white rapper dude of course). It's got James Brown beats, cheap and cheesy keyboards, and a singer who you could mistake for Jack White of the White Stripes. Hot. The comp is pretty nicely put together: each track gets a brief bit of description/info, and the original singles sleeves are reproduced in thumbnail size on the tray card, always a nice to see. Now we've got to go back and check out the first volume of this series...if it's as good we'll let you know.
V/AMuggs Presents...The Soul Assassins: Chapter 1(Columbia)cd$ 15.98
A compilation of cuts by some of hiphop's biggest stars (Dr. Dre, RZA & GZA/Genius, KRS-One, various Mobbs, many others) all produced, arranged and composed by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill.
V/AMulti-Vitamin Comp.(PNMV)cd$ 13.98
Compilation featuring mostly out-of-print 7" tracks from the likes of KARP, Lowercase, Thrones, New Bad Things, Mocket, Long Hind Legs, Unwound (that one previously unreleased I'm told) and others.
V/AMurder In The Company of The Vespertine(Vespertine)cd$ 16.98
"Mood music in a jugular vein" was the only description accompanying a list of bands: Air Wave, Bear, Bola, Cavil, Dakota Suite, Dynamite Cigar Co, I'm Sore, Lazarus Clamp, Lazerboy, M-Tec, Mus, Muma Sounds, Oneironaut, and Quigley. Without much else to go
V/AMurder: Songs From The Dark Side Of The Soul(Trikont)cd$ 17.98
V/AMuseum Of Future Sound IV(Flogsta Danshall)2lp$ 39.00
Skweee! It's been a little while since we've been able to use that word in a review, but we're always super happy when we can, because it usually means we're listing a new release of "skweee" music. Skweee! You know, the mostly-Scandinavian DIY electro subgenre, characterized by bleep-bloopy videogame-y synth sounds and freaky, fractured funk grooves, all very stripped down and homebrewed. Still pretty much an underground cult thing, despite being the some of the most charming, fun stuff that all of electronica has had to offer, ever. Just check out this, the latest import compilation of skweee bangers from one of the form's leading purveyors, Sweden's Flogsta Danshall label. Fans will already be salivating, with cuts from top skweee artists like Randy Barracuda, Limonious, Claws Cousteau, Daniel Savio, and Joxaren, appearing alongside lots of new names we're not familiar with. 20 tracks in all, spread over four sides of vinyl, housed in a sleeve bearing black & white brick wall artwork in keeping with the earlier entries in this great series (volumes 1 and 2 were cds, vol. 3 was download-only), graphics we love so much. It'd be too much to go track-by-track in this review; we're not even sure if we should bother calling out highlights - like, the slinky, stuttering funk of Randy Barracuda's "Black Belt", or the herky-jerky blurble of Vurado Bokoda's "Hunchback Blast", or the head-bobbing 'attract mode' keyboard jam that is Grizzler's "Orangutan Sizzle", 'cause we'd have to keep going, and mention Easy & Center Of The Universe's Eastern glitch grooves on "Bosporus Raver", as well as the spacey, swaggery chopped up blip-hop of Claws Costeau's "Sichuan Tongue", and on and on, 'cause it's all good stuff, skweee at its best - that's the point of the Museum Of Future Sound series after all. So, very recommended. If you're just gonna buy one skweee release this year (and you should, every chance you get) then make it this one!! Skweee!!!!
V/AMuseum Of Future Sound Vol. 1(Flogsta Danshall)cd$ 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. Yo droids! You wanna know what's been boomin' on Pluto lately? It's gotta be skweee. Y'know here at Aquarius we're always on the lookout for something new, the next big thing perhaps (though we're talking big 'round here, not necessarily elsewhere). Well we think we've found it! SKWEEE. Skweee? That's the self-proclaimed name for a new scene of electronic music in Scandinavia. It's basically Nordic b-boys doing DIY electro, and it's true, if they hadn't called it skweee but something less silly like, uh, "Scandi-funk" or "Vikinglectro", we might have not been as initially intrigued, though we did already have an interest in electro from Finland 'cause of that Sound Of Suomi comp we listed a while back. Something about "skweee" though just grabs us. You don't have to like bad puns to like skweee but it helps. Hey what are you doing this skweeekend? There's a skweee show Saturday skweeevening. Some of our favorite skweeejays will be spinning. Skweee you there! We kind of randomly found out about it on the internet, listened in to some online samples on the "Nation of Skweee" webpage, and were hooked. Imagine a warped crossover between old school video game music and '90s hiphop instrumental tracks, that laidback Dr. Dre style funk as if hacked on a Commodore 64, programmed by Finnish and Norwegian kids trying to stave off the boredom and depression of long sunlight-deprived winters (as opposed to embracing it like their countryfolk into black metal would do). There's an obscure but active scene up in that part of the world skweeepin' it real with the support of a couple local labels, Harmonia and Flogsta Danshall, releasing the skweee on 7" and 12" singles. We did discover this one compact disc compilation that Flogsta Danshall put out, and figured we had to get it, it features a lot of the "stars" of skweee and obviously would be a good starting point for us, and any AQ customers who wanted to get turned on to skweee. And funnily enough, the guy from Flogsta Danshall had previously been to Aquarius on a trip to the USA, so he was himself excited that we wanted to stock some skweee in our shop! Here's the artists: Mesak, Pavan, Rigas Den Andre, Beem, The Munchies, Randy Barracuda, Wizards of DOS, PJVM, Mangrove, Uday, Vakttornet, Daniel Savio, Maja Hedin, and Claws Costeau (great name!). Although each one's different, there's a definite "skweee ID" shared between 'em: elements like distorted squelching synthetic bass, computery bloops and bleeps, fractured funk beats, crazed dance logic, and what's either a playful sense of humor or just plain weirdness. Or both. Some tracks (say, Pavan) are a bit more uptight techno-rigid kraftwerkouts than others, which skweee like along with the looser, more fucked up cuts (like Randy Barracuda's which sounds like Inspector Gadget done Doug E. Fresh style or somethin'). The Museum Of Future Sound exhibits 14 trax, 54+ minutes of the finest in skweee, packaged in a thin, square, black plastic cd case, with simple, stark black & white cover graphics and a tracklisting on stickers affixed to the front and back. [2008 update: now it's in a cardboard sleeve, not plastic, a la vol. 2.] No further info is given about any of the contributors, unfortunately, so they stay mysterious... but they probably all have MySpace pages and would love to get visitors! Next big thing? Could skweee. We'll skweee.
V/AMuseum Of Future Sound Vol. 2(Flogsta Danshall)cd$ 14.98
In the time since we highlighted the original volume of Flogsta Danshall's Museum Of Future Sound (in the fall of '07), there have been literally hundreds if not thousands of records reviewed on our list. And while among those hundreds of records there have been a great many we really really liked, plenty of great music, the fact remains that NONE of it has been skweee. And that just won't do. We need more skweee!!! Thank god Flogsta Danshall has at last released "the next level" of the Museum Of Future Sound, volume two, 18 more tracks of pure skweee! Skweee, if you weren't paying attention back when we listed the first Museum Of Future Sound, is the cutting edge new Scandinavian electro-funk sound that's sweeping the globe. Well we maybe not quite sweeping. Or even skweeeping. But we're really into it, and heck it SHOULD be blowing up big, if we have anything to say about it. Why do we love skweee so much? It's both atmospheric and groovy and sorta silly (it sometimes -sounds- silly plus there's all the skweee-punning potential), it's very DIY and has that video game chip-tune retro-ness that you know we'd think was cool. It's funky, goofy, pretty much always instrumental, full of Kraftwerkian melodies, ridiculous nasty crunching bass, and glitched-up hiphop rhythms, skweeeird broken-machine beats tailor made for your most skweeetarded robotic poppin' and lockin' dance moves. It's immediately recognizable, when someone here starts pumpin' the skweee on the stereo we all know what it is. And the whole MySpace-based, internet "nation of skweee" Nordic b-boy (skweee-boy?) community, small as it is, seems pretty cool. A whole little scene (skweeene?) of skweee-obsessiveness to get into. Museum Of Future Sound vol. 2 is a good place to start (if you have vol. 1 you already know you want this, right??). There's cuts from a few vol. 1 superstars such as Mesak, Randy Barracuda, Claws Costeau, and Daniel Savio, plus tons more tracks introducing such skweee powers-to-be as Eero Johannes, Mrs Qaeda, Joxaren, Spartan Lover, Limonious, Wankers United, Rigas Den Andre, and more... some we already knew from our internet skweee-search, others totally new to us. All these museum exhibits are pretty fantastic!! Each with their own idiosyncracies (idiosyncraskweees?). Ok, stop! By the way, while the first volume came in a slim plastic case, this one is packaged in a cardstock sleeve with three skweee stickers as inserts. Also, volume one of the Museum is being repressed, so we're out of them now but will have it back in the next few weeks hopefully. Also, we do have a handful of skweee 7"s still in stock, ask us about 'em... maybe we'll try to get some 12" vinyl at some point in the future too.
V/AMush Tour 2002(Mush)dvd$ 17.98
V/AMusic By The Children Of Ala Costa(The Dancing Tree)cd-r$ 9.98
Hmm, what to say about this exactly? It's a 24-minute cd-r collecting stuff recorded by 'developmentally disabled' kids (ages 6 to 22) at the Ala Costa Center in Northern California who participated in a twelve week music workshop run by San Francisco's The Dancing Tree organization, which seems like wonderful fun for them. The kids are let loose with tom toms and kazoos and and xylophones and slide whistles and sticks etc., and these are some of the results. Funny and silly, sweet and innocent and full of creative enthusiasm (if not skill). Musically, it's primitive stuff, with lotsa playful percussion and singing. We really like all the pieces that utilize "sticks on playground structure". File with the Tangerine Awkestra and the Kids of Widney High in the untrained and/or differently-abled avantgarde section. "Trees And Whistles" is pure beat poetry, while the single-minded abandon of several of the tom tom jams outdo Amon Duul and Crash Worship. Well, maybe.
V/AMusic De Wolfe Vol. 1(Megaphone)cd$ 14.98
Like a Molotov cocktail for the spy-chase set, this compilation of sixties and seventies instrumental funk and soul from the De Wolfe Library and selected by Baltimore DJ and Library music geek, Jason Willet has all the stuff you need to get your feet and ass moving. Tense chase themes are intermixed with sexy bachelor-pad space grooves from one of the best library music houses in Britain, much of it on cd for the first time. So whether you are living out your Blaxploitation Spy fantasies or facing a daunting labor-intensive task (like we are creating this list for you), this set makes it all OK! Recommended!
V/AMusic For Dancefloors: The KPM Music Library(Strut)2cd$ 17.98
Crate-diggers have long looked to Library music (anonymously created music cues made available for use in film) for obscure hip-hop and funk breaks. Back in 2000, Strut Records released this survey on the KPM library originally intending to create a series dedicated to mining the archives of UK's foremost music libraries. It has now been reissued in a deluxe format that includes a bonus cd of a live reunion concert at London's Jazz Cafe with KPM's top performers, Alan Hawkshaw (The Mohawks), Keith Mansfield, and Alan Parker, dubbed The KPM All Stars. The album proper also includes tracks by John Cameron, Les Baxter and a host of others focusing on funk, soul, Latin, jazz, and disco with a gritty seventies urban vibe. Break beats are plentiful, but what is most stunning is the solid session player chops being presented especially on the live disc, not to mention the stunning vocals by Madeline Bell on "That's What Friends Are For" (not the Dionne Warwick song of the same name, thankfully!). Fans of Gilles Peterson, or rare soul and jazz groove. take note! There's also a gatefold double lp version that includes both cds with it as well.
V/AMusic For Listening To(Bubble Core)cd$ 13.98
Nice comp featuring Him, Mice Parade, Rex (two tracks from an out-of-print 7"!), and the fabulous Matmos, among others.
V/AMusic For Mentalists(Psychic Circle)cd$ 17.98
Most of the time, compilations are intended to bring you the "best" of something. This one, though, is different! The compilers have deliberately put together a compilation of the WORST. A collection of "the obscure, the peculiar, and in some cases the downright disturbing". And of course, we recommend it! Now, the Psychic Circle label is known for all their keen compilations of '60s psych pop, "instro-hipster" groove, glam rock, and other vintage obscurities. Many of their discs are compiled by Nick "Bevis Frond" Saloman, who here, along with colleague Mick Dillingham, delve into a very different, and certainly much less cool/good/valuable, section of what must be vast, vast record collections. The section labeled "incredibly strange (or daft) music"! Collectable perhaps, but definitely more as a compulsion than an investment. They're mostly flea market and junk shop finds, we imagine. Barmy commercial jingles. Novelty tunes. Celebrity cash-ins. Easy listening attempts to be hip. Embarrassing (though fairly witty) rapping by an old white Englishman promoting his darts themed TV quiz show. Disco-sploitation. Would-be exotica and/or erotica. Super sappy lovesongs. "Ethnic" oddities (including more rapping). Et cetera, et cetera. Like other Psychic Circle comps, it's stuff from from the '60s and '70s (though it's possible that the ones with the rapping could be from the early '80s), some tracks having an increased humor factor due to their datedness. The other humor factor: how terrible, terrible this music is. Quite painful some of it. But also really funny. And sometimes pretty darn catchy. Which actually is a dangerous thing - you might wind up with some really bizarre stuff stuck in your head as a result of listening to this. Don't say we didn't warn you. But who wouldn't want, ferinstance, "These Boots Are Made For Walking" as performed (for some reason) by an outfit appropriately called Balsara & His Singing Sitars stuck in their head? Certainly not you. There's an overwhelming 33 tracks here (OMG!). And immediately you'll find confusional, cringeworthy fodder for your next voicemail greeting, or something to render the next mix tape (cd-r, playlist, whatever) you make just a little bit weirder! Most of the stuff here was previously quite unknown to us (though we venture to guess that if you grew up in the UK, there's a chance you might be more familiar with some of the entries). And even if we knew the artists, such as the celebrity contingent of David McCallum, David Carradine, and Xaviera "The Happy Hooker" Hollander (performing separately, not together, now that would be REALLY crazy), that didn't really prepare us for what their tracks were all about. Or maybe it did. Bizarre stuff in any case, as are all the rest of the tracks here, which include everything from Micky Katz's Yiddish version of "K'nock Around The Clock" to a silly shoe advert ("The Weakling In Thom McCann Shoes") to opera singer Cathy Berberian's faux-classical take on the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to a big band version of the Monkees theme to naive outsider homemade pop to discofied Pink Floyd. Just when you think it can't get any worse or weirder, it does!! And let's not forget, this starts off pretty insane, with track two being about the weirdest bit of civic boosterism ever, a song called "Energy In Northampton", commissioned by The Northampton Development Corporation and sung by one Linda Jardim, this song tells of aliens from outer space crash landing in the town of Northampton and finding it quite to their liking! It's like Saloman and Dillingham took turns one-upping each other with the most absurd, atrocious recorded artifacts they (perversely) treasure... "Oh, you thought that was bad? Get a load of THIS!" and you get to hear it all, in its awesome/awful glory. The cd booklet provides some mercifully brief details about each track along with appropriate accompanying graphics in full color (and also reveals that most of the blame here goes to Mr. Dillingham, from whose crazy collection most if not all of these records were sourced). We're sorta surprised this is on Psychic Circle, and not, say, the Trunk label. This disc seems destined to become a beloved best seller... at least here at Aquarius!
V/AMusic For Plants(PerfectlfOn)2cd$ 23.00
V/AMusic From Saharan Cellphones(Sahel Sounds)lp$ 14.98
How could anyone not be obsessed with this? We originally thought the title was just a catchy turn of phrase whipped up by MISSISSIPPI RECORDS, who originally put this out on cassette, but as we did some digging, we discovered that the title was in fact literal, this is indeed a collection of songs found on cellphone memory cards in the Saharan desert. It's not nearly as strange as it sounds once you realize that in Africa, much like in the US, people use cellphones for everything, including of course collecting and trading music, often swapping songs person to person via bluetooth. So here is a sort of best of, a collection of tracks which were super popular in the African mp3/cellphone network, but have essentially never been released commercially or really heard at all outside of these mp3 traders until now. Obviously, anyone who's a fan of Sublime Frequencies, or Mississippi records is gonna go nuts for this stuff. The sound, besides reflecting a sort of African underground, also chronicles a new era of personal music production, with many of these tracks recorded in people's homes, on computers, using commercial software, synths, autotune and other things previously unavailable outside a proper studio. The sound is super varied: many tracks are classic sounding African music, with some of that desert blues vibe found on a lot of Sublime Frequencies releases, call and response vocals, warm buzzing melodies, simple skeletal rhythms, very hypnotic and mesmerizing, while others are far out takes on commercial pop, or Afro-hiphop, or African electro, all seemingly underpinned by classic African rhythms, but with way more modern elements woven in, some with super autotuned vocals, creating a strange soulful autotuned afro-pop hybrid that is pretty amazing, the record continues to slip back and forth from those classic sounds, to more modern takes on African music, some lush and layered, others super lo-fi, some obviously loose street jams (occasionally peppered with weird recording/cellphone storage/transfer glitches, which only adds to the sound), others are obviously meticulously composed and arranged, and those crazy autotuned vox continue to pop up throughout (obviously very popular with the mp3/cellphone music traders), and are definitely the strangest element. And according to the label, since the original cassette release, most of the previously mysterious artists (the original tape featured very little in the way of artists and titles) have been tracked down and now get a majority of the royalties. So totally recommended!