Buscar:one of them

Limited Violet Vinyl repress for Indies only. Genre: alternative/punk/heavy/riot grrl. Debut album for legendary Tasmanian noise-punk band formed in the early 90s. Recordings span more than 20 years, including tracks thought lost on a corrupted hard drive from the late 90s. Legendary Australian punk band Little Ugly Girls formed in Hobart, Tasmania in the very early 90s, but have never released a record until now. This new self-titled set is officially their debut album, and features recordings spanning more than 20 years. The band formed around fiery vocalist Linda Johnston, whose high-kicking stage antics make her one of Australia's most electrifying frontpeople, and her guitar demon brother Dannie "Bean" Johnston. After moving to Melbourne in the mid 90s, the band settled on their classic lineup of Brent "Sloth" Punshon on drums, and rock-solid bassist Mindy Mapp (previously of another cult 90s band, Brisbane's much-loved Fur). Little Ugly Girls played with the likes of Bikini Kill, Fugazi, and once memorably headlined over the White Stripes in Melbourne. But their only recordings released to date include a handful of 90s cassettes. Now nearly 30 years since they formed, the debut album by Little Ugly Girls shows them at their towering best - fierce and inspiring, with Linda's scarifying lyrics and impassioned delivery set to a huge wall of taut punk noise. It has been a long time coming, but it's as good as you could have dreamed. Tracklist 1. Tractor 2. Slip 3. Jimmeh 4. Senseless 5. Baggage 6. The Pit 7. Storm After Storm 8. Dead C 9. Snap 10. Tardis 11. Vinegar 12. Boxen-Hooda-Hayda

THE ICONIC 1986 DOOM METAL OPUS 'EPICUS DOOMICUS
METALLICUS', FEATURING REMASTERED AUDIO & PRESENTED WITH ITS
ORIGINAL SLEEVE DESIGN
Candlemass was formed by bassist & songwriter Leif Edling in Stockholm,
Sweden in 1984 & they are well known for their epic doom metal, having a great
influence over a generation of the genre's subsequent greats - Candlemass
themselves taking a large influence from Black Sabbath. Bands such as Paradise
Lost & My Dying Bride to this day rate 'Epicus...' among their most inspirational
albums. 'Epicus Doomicus Metallicus' is a true classic. Heavy metal riffs blended
with almost neo-classical touches, plus some theatrical elements recalling bands
like Mercyful Fate (thought to be another influence). All-in-all, this is considered
one of the definitive Doom Metal releases. 'Epicus € ' was recorded at
Thunderload Studios in 1986 & was released later that same year. The vocals
were handled by Johan L ngqvist, before the iconic vocalist Messiah Marcolin
became a solid fixture in the band until the early nineties. Candlemass instantly
became a great inspiration to countless metal bands upon the album's release in
1986; a time when thrash metal, not doom, was fast becoming the dominant style
in both Europe & the US. This edition of 'Epicus Doomicus Metallicus' features
recently remastered audio courtesy of Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony &
is presented with its original sleeve design.

Wucan is a german rock band from Dresden, who like to describe their
style of music as Heavy Flute Rock
If one is to dive deeper into the artistic creativity of the group, it becomes
obvious, why regular genres won't fit here. Multifaceted and playful they deliver
psychedelic riffs, progressive song structures with folk elements here and there,
since their first album. Wucan fears neither the soothing melodies, nor the
tougher pace.Reinventing themselve with every release, the band and it's singer
and multiinstrumentalist Francis Tobolsky never loose their distinct features.
Ranging from short proto- metal tracks to epic 15 minute tracks like
"Wandersmann" of their debut album or "Aging 10 Years in 2 Seconds" of their
second follow-up longplayer.
On September 10, 2021, Wucan performed in the famous Blues Garage in
Isernhagen near Hannover/Germany. And German radio station Deutschlandfunk
recorded the show, the first live album in the band's career, energetic and pure.

We have a very limited amount of these available now for stores. 4LP boxset - white vinyl - edition of 300 - includes: The Dream Derealised LP, Lightnesses I & II LPs, Near Future Residence LP. It’s nearing a decade since William Doyle released his Mercury Music Prize nominated debut album, Total Strife Forever, as East India Youth in 2014. A year later, he had toured the world and was releasing his second album, Culture of Volume, but it would be another four years before Doyle returned with his third full album, and the first official release under his own name. The dizzyingly ambitious Your Wilderness Revisited arrived in 2019 and was followed last year by the artpop masterpiece, Great Spans of Muddy Time. In the years between leaving the old project behind and re-emerging under his own name, Doyle self-released a string of ambient-leaning albums, The Dream Derealised, Lightnesses Vol I & II and Near Future Residence, which are now to receive a first vinyl pressing via Tough Love as both a highly limited four LP box set, titled ‘Slowly Arranged: 2016-19’, and as separate albums. The Dream Derealised is a collection of nine abstract, lo-fi pieces that were recorded during the summer of 2016, when focusing on creating them helped guide Doyle through a “difficult period of anxiety, panic and a regular dissociative feeling called derealisation.” At the time, doing something creative in a quick and immediate fashion felt vital to Doyle, carrying him to a new place: “I’m releasing them now as a cathartic measure, and as a message for others who may be going through difficult times themselves. What I told myself at the time, what I can tell you now: You are not in danger. You are not going insane. You are not alone.” Lightnesses Vol. I & II sees Doyle create what we might understand as true ambient music – that is, music intended for the background that wasn’t composed as such, but allowed to blossom out of the setting of some rules and parameters, played by sounds he created and then resampled. The deceptively simple, droning pieces are unlike anything Doyle has made before or since. “During their creation I’d often take photographs of the light coming in through the windows of the two houses I lived in during their creation. I’d post these on social media and they became quite popular parts of my output. This music was intended to accompany those visuals. The first volume’s photo is a double exposure of the sun shining in on my notebook and my hand, whereas the photo for the second volume was taken in Joshua Tree Park, California as I saw our tail lights illuminate one of the trees.” Near Future Residence is music for an imagined place based on real ideas; the soundtrack for an ecologically sustainable housing development somewhere in a not-too-distant future Britain. The eleven instrumental pieces here come from a place of optimism, imagining a future that is based on cooperation, community and ecological urbanism. It's music intended to sit in this imagined environment rather than impose upon it, similar in principle to the function of Kankyō Ongaku (Japanese environmental music). The ideas contained on Near Future Residence laid the groundwork for - and can be seen as a companion piece to - the album Your Wilderness Revisited, released to critical acclaim in 2019. Doyle explains how the pieces “were composed in entirely generative ways using samples of instruments, synthesisers and field recordings I've collected and developed throughout 2018. In generative composition, rules are set and parameters are chosen and then put into motion, the results constantly changing and surprising.”

Repress of Kaitlyn's solo debut Euclid (primarily written on a Buchla Music Easel synthesizer), it was inspired by her love of mbira music, early electronic music pioneers like Laurie Spiegel, Oskar Sala, and Terry Riley, and euclidian geometry. Each of the first six songs on Euclid were initially structured using euclidian geometry, an idea which Smith explored while attending a class at the San Francisco Conservatory. As Smith explains, "We each chose a 3D shape and assigned our own guidelines to the different components that make up the shape. For example each point of the shape represents a different time signature, each line between the points represents a pitch, each shape within the closed lines represents a scale, etc. And then you play the shape." Despite their heady geometric origins, the songs have a playfulness and warmth that makes them inviting and memorable. In addition to the buoyant grooves of Smith's synthesizers, some of the songs feature wordless vocals, which energize the otherworldly songs, while grounding them with Smith's earthly presence. She slows things down for the second half of the record, which features a collection of twelve short pieces, Labyrinths I-XII. Originally composed as new soundtracks to old silent films she found online, Smith says the tranquil Labyrinth pieces are "intended to feel like one is walking through a holographic labyrinth and encountering different experiences such as hang gliding, viewing microbes under a microscope, ice fishing in Alaska, and watching glaciers collapse." Despite their brevity, most of these songs feel like mini odysseys, effortlessly casting a cinematic hue on the the listener's world. Throughout Euclid Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith consistently delivers sonic puzzles draped in a warm Pacific mist. At times these songs feel so alive like the musical analog to roots growing deeper and stronger, leaves on branches bending towards the light, or the sun peeking over the horizon, briefly igniting the air with a primordial swirl of warm and cool colors.

It takes BALTA seven minutes to annihilate Rendszerszintű Agybasz ás (Systematic Brainfucking), the debut EP by these feral Hungarians. Their approach to music is beyond urgent and their delivery equally drastic. BALTA’s sound is vicious, pounding and hectic. With one of the nastiest guitar tones to grace these ears in recent memory, and a drumming style that may collapse at any giving moment. Drawing parallels with PIÑEN, ULSTER, the first TRANQUILIZER Flexi, PLASMID or IMAGEN is fair, giving the total disregard for melody or time the band displays. But it is their anti-authoritarian lyrics and uber punk attitude that sets them on their own path; Searching for a primitive future amongst the concrete ruins.

Check point Catherine

“In the afternoon we performed in a rather austere theatre in East Berlin. Then I remember we crossed Checkpoint Charlie that evening to play in a club in West Berlin. The atmosphere was completely different. I felt as though we were living in a black and white spy movie.” Nicolas Fiszman recalls that chaotic day of 13 June 1982. Two outstanding guitarists, Philip Catherine and Nicolas Fiszman, who at the time was only seventeen years old, were taken from one side of Berlin to the other in pouring rain to perform to unlikely audiences. At both concerts, they played the same programme of seven pieces written by Philip, with the exception of “Crystal Bells”, composed by Charlie Mariano. The pair were not master and student. Rather, Philip remembers Nicolas like a young brother he might have taken to the beach. After the 1960s, Philip became a major figure on the jazz scene, working with the greatest: Charles Mingus, Chet Baker, Stéphane Grapelli, Dexter Gordon, to name only a few. Nicolas has played with Charles Aznavour, Vanessa Paradis, Francis Cabrel and Eric Serra, and travels the world with Sting.

On that gloomy afternoon, the two guitarists, alone on stage, decided to brighten up the morosity that reigned. The pieces they played bore titles such as “Janet”, “Babel” and “Petit Nicolas”. It is hard to believe that this varied, well-constructed, polyphonic music was not entirely written down on paper. Philip says, “Nothing is written from beginning to end. I compose the themes and some harmonic bridges. Then we have a chord chart … and that’s it.” The foundations are written; inspiration, taste, fantasy and friendship do the rest. We feel as though we are taking a nonchalant walk through Rio or Miami. The concert is punctuated by thunderous applause.

For these brief minutes in that year 1982, the East Berliners were able to fly over their tightly closed borders.

We are privileged to have unearthed this unique concert where two outstanding artists bring together two cultures to create an intense blaze of happiness.

Philip Catherine, Guitar
Nicolas Fiszman, Guitar & Bass
With the kind authorization of the Artists

For us at 1985 Music, our Various Artists series are extremely important. It not only provides a great platform to celebrate music from a wide range of artists, but it also enables us to promote both veterans and newcomers in the scene and to introduce them as part of our extended family. We are very excited to share the second part of our Atlas series which includes both new and familiar faces.

Most audiophiles know Alan Parsons Project's I Robot by heart. Engineered by Parsons after he performed the same duties on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, the 1977 record reigns as a disc whose taut bass, crisp highs, clean production, and seemingly limitless dynamic range are matched only by the sensational prog-rock fare helmed by the keyboardist and his creative partner, Eric Woolfson. Not surprisingly, it's been issued myriad times. Can it be improved? Relish Mobile Fidelity's stupendous UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM box set and the question becomes moot.


Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, I Robot comes to life with reference-setting realism on this numbered, limited-edition reissue. Boasting immaculate highs and lows, generous spaciousness, and see-through transparency that takes you into the studio with Parsons and Woolfson at Abbey Road, this definitive edition is designed to demonstrate the full-range capabilities of the world's best stereo systems while offering listeners the convenience of having all the music on one LP.

Featuring a nearly inaudible noise floor, this transcendent UD1S edition functions as a repeat invitation to savor reference-grade soundstages, immersive smoothness, sought-after instrumental separation, three-dimensional imaging, and consummate tonal balances. Able to be played back at high volumes without compromise or fatigue, it is a demonstration record for the ages – the likes of which are no longer being made. This is the very reason you own and invest in high-end audio gear.

The special characteristics of this UD1S version extend to the premium packaging. Housed in an elegant slipcase, the reissue features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics. Aurally and visually, it is made for discerning listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in everything about this conceptual landmark. The Alan Parsons Project's most famous record deserves nothing less.

Inspired by and loosely based around the Isaac Asimov stories of the same name, I Robot delves into themes of artificial intelligence and technological dominance that make the record extremely relevant in the 21st century. Indeed, Parsons and Woolfson's pinnacle creation dovetailed with the ascendency of Star Wars, which itself is experiencing a rebirth in an age of self-driving cars, smart devices, and mindless automation. Lyrically, songs such as "The Voice" call into question human behavior – and their relationship to increasing robotic supremacy – in everyday life. Parsons and Woolfson reflect the associated paranoia, dichotomy, and transformation via shifting sci-fi arrangements steeped in drama and moodiness.

The absorbing tunes on I Robot also continue to fascinate due to their perfectionism and innovation. Borrowing from Pink Floyd's strategies, Parsons and Woolfson utilize a looped sequence on the title track to create new downbeats. "Some Other Time" employs two different lead vocalists and yet gives the illusion that only one is involved. Captivating strings, a piccolo trumpet, and bona fide pipe organ grace "Don't Let It Show." The origins of "Nucleus" stem from a unique analog keyboard concoction dubbed "the Projectron," devised by Parsons and electronic engineer Keith Johnson. Andrew Powell's orchestral and choral arrangements top it all off, with "Total Eclipse" arriving as a frightening track that presages the climactic "Genesis Ch. 1 V. 32."

Does man or machine win in the end? Decide as you get lost in Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc 180g 33RPM LP pressing. Secure your numbered copy today!

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called "converts") are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.

MoFi SuperVinyl

Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analogue lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

In 2021, nyMusikk's annual festival of sound, "Only Connect", commissioned an interpretation from I LIKE TO SLEEP of the first movement of Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalila symphony. A project which initially led to a 15-minute piece performed at the festival, with the trio re-writing the music of Messiaen, but also rewriting the music of their own. Messiaen as a reference and compositional tool may be heard in the album for those really listening for references. With “Sleeping Beauty” the trio also explore even heavier riffs than before, seasick grooves and tempi, and deeper ambient soundscapes. Through extensive improvisation, the effects and processing of the sounds are way more extreme than before, almost awakening the sleeping beauty. During the pandemic, the band also had to find new ways to write music without the presence of every member, introducing the vibe-samples from the old Mellotron sound gallery to the band. Quarantillity, one of the themes which appears several times throughout the album - almost used in a similar way as the flower theme in the Turangalila symphony - is a direct result of sitting alone in quarantine, playing the Mellotron while listening to vibraphone extraordinaire Bobby Hutcherson. This theme could also be seen as a continuation of the previous album tracks named Pause I & Pause II from “Bedmonster” (2017) and “Daymare” (2020). Like “Daymare”, “Sleeping Beauty” was recorded in Duper Studio in Bergen, co-produced with the band’s all-time favourite sound wizard Jørgen Træen. It is also mixed and mastered by Træen, making the music sound as brutal, intense and intimate as experiencing I LIKE TO SLEEP in a live setting. “Infernal, scrotum-shrivelling energy sorely missing in today's music” said Jazzwise about their previous album, mentioning King Crimson, Magma, Tony Williams Lifetime, electric Miles and 60s free energy jazz as possible references. But that’s only one side of the story, there are plenty of quieter moments at work here, and the dynamic range is wide. Nicolas and Øyvind first met in high school in Trondheim before they joined up with Amund in a youth big band. It soon became apparent that they shared the same musical background centered around 70s progressive rock, classical music, jazz and improvisation. Taking their name from a Thelonious Monk quote, I LIKE TO SLEEP was formed, first for fun, but soon with higher ambitions, winning the prestigious "Young Jazz Musicians of the Year" award in 2018. Still only in their early 20s and still studying jazz at NTNU in Trondheim, they are also active as composers, freelancers and in other projects and are among the most promising on Norwegian scene. Amund Storløkken Åse – vibraphone and Mellotron Nicolas Leirtrø - baritone guitar, bass-VI and Mellotron Øyvind Leite – drums Tracks

Pharoah Sanders' "Shukuru" is noteworthy as being the album that reunited Sanders with vocalist Leon Thomas, who sang on some of Sanders' most endearing and powerful compositions-- among them the legendary "The Creator Has a Masterplan".

Thomas only joins the band on two tracks-- "Mas in Brooklyn (Highlife)" and "Sun Song". The former gets a full calypso reading complete with steel drum sounds and chanted vocals traded between Sanders and Thomas. It's a lot of fun, but by and large, throwaway. The latter is one of the true gems on the album-- a pretty ballad that serves as both a launching point for Sanders' best balladry and Thomas' vocal, with the latter soaring in his upper register wordlessly between verses intoned in his trademark baritone. It's by and large simply stunning.

The rest of the record has got its issues however, and by and large this comes in the part of Henderson's synthesizer-- while his piano tone is virtually indistinguishable from an acoustic piano, several tracks receive irritating synth vocals or strings (it's really hard to tell which, it's fairly indistinct and obnoxious), mangling otherwise fine performances of traditional tenor feature "Body and Soul", Sanders-penned "Jitu" (although admittedly the leader manages such a powerful solo it gets past it) and an absolutely breathtaking reading of "Too Young to Go Steady". At least opener "Shukuru" and closing funereal piece "For Big George" are spared this as the use of synths of them are far more tasteful (although one questions Sanders' choice to intone his wife's name over the former's smokey lines, but that's another story). by Vine Voice

Cardinal Fuzz and Centripetal Force (North America) announce First Welcome, the eighth full length album from the ever evolving, veteran psychonauts White Manna. The album is being presented in a 500 copy vinyl pressing and will be made available for preorder on November 12th. The official release date is December 10th. White Manna's longevity as one of the leaders of the modern psychedelic movement is attributed to their willingness to introduce new elements to their sonic repertoire. Initially, these moves were subtle, but as the band has moved on through the years, these moves have become much more pronounced, always leaving listeners wondering what is in store for them as new releases are announced. So, here we are with First Welcome, an album that features warbled country leanings, airy blooms of ambience, and occasional hints of a German yesteryear, all implemented into the band's signature hazy and spacey mosaic of sound. None of these developments are unexpected, as they do build off of their previous album ARC, but here we see the band expand these elements and really make them their own. It should be noted that First Welcome is a product of the COVID era, with much of the recording happening in quarantine or while socially distanced. The band's process relied on communicating via email and sending music files back and forth. For White Manna this made the world of COVID both more fun and challenging, and they used the opportunity to get friends in different places to overdub tracks. Backing vocals and slide guitar were recorded while camping in the Mojave Desert. The saxophone was recorded in Liverpool. England. The trumpet sounds and some of the passages on the Rhodes were laid down in Northern California, and much of the vocals, piano, and synthesizer tracks were recorded in Costa Rica. As a result, the sound of First Welcome is reflective of the circumstances of these contemplative times. White Manna is recommended for listeners of everything from Hawkwind to Harmonia - and everything in between.

'It sounds like Roedelius remixing a Spacemen 3 track'

Glasgow's First Lady of Jazz Carol Kidd, whose string of successful Linn recordings in the 1980's have made her a staple of international audiophile artists, returns with an all-new collection of delectable jazz and pop standards delivered in her inimitably smooth and heartfelt style.

Kidd has always been an artist celebrated for her cool, controlled phrasing and easy-going balladry, and her lovely new recording, BOTH SIDES NOW, is replete with her trademark inflection and warmth spread over classic songs by everyone from Rodgers & Hammerstein, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell, and Richard Thompson. A songwriter of note, Kidd herself contributes two new tracks co-authored with Chris Anthony.

Impex's exclusive 180-gram 33 rpm LP, mastered by the superlative Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, features brilliantly detailed mid-tones, effortlessly stable bottom end, and crisp overtones. RTI's peerless pressing brings it all together for your listening pleasure.

Carol Kidd is an international award winning singer. She has been named 'Best Vocalist' at the British Jazz Awards on four occasions and was appointed MBE for Services to Jazz. In 2006, Carol was a winner of the prestigious Nordoff-Robbins Tartan Clef Music Award and in 2017 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Scottish Jazz Awards. Renowned for her impeccable phrasing and delivery along with an unforgettable ability to breathe fresh life into any jazz standard, Carol has cut a distinctive path through the Great American Songbook throughout her career with orchestral and trio backing, as well as performing as a unique and intimate duo with guitarist Nigel Clark.

A long line of admirers has included Tony Bennett, Vic Damone and Frank Sinatra, who invited her to open for him at a stadium concert where he remarked that, "Carol Kidd is the best kept secret of British jazz." After a sensational performance at the Tribute to Johnny Mercer show at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, Sir Michael Parkinson observed from the stage that "If there is a better jazz singer out there I have yet to hear them!" Luminaries who have performed alongside Carol as her guests include George Shearing, Georgie Fame, Annie Ross, Benny Carter, Joe Temperley, Bobby Watson and Martin Taylor.

Following a battle with cancer, Carol returned to the stage triumphant in the summer of 2013 to give a powerful, emotional performance at the Glasgow Jazz Festival. In the wake of this homecoming, it is impossible to deny that Kidd is one of the most remarkable artists and performers of our time.

Forte is proud to present these fantastic reissues on the Aarght label from one of Australia's greatest rock & roll bands, the Cosmic Psychos.

The band debuted on wax almost 30 years ago and since then have become an Aussie punk/pub rock institution, touring the globe and influencing a generation of Seattle musicians (Mudhoney, the Melvins and Pearl Jam among them) in the process. On top of that there's the recently released full-length documentary on the band, Blokes You Can Trust, which is doing the rounds in cinemas around Australia and the US, a US tour in September and now these! 2013 is the Year Of The Cosmic Psycho.

Let's start with 1985's Down On The Farm mini-LP. This is the record which made the original splash back in the day and hasn't been in print on vinyl anywhere since that time. Featuring original guitarist Peter 'Dirty' Jones on wah-wah guitar, it's an absolute classic of heavy-duty punk/grunge. The vinyl edition comes with a download card.

The self-titled LP from 1987 is another classic with the original line-up. The download card for the vinyl edition comes with two bonus tracks - outtakes from the same recording session - and the CD also contains the two bonus tracks PLUS the entire Down On The Farm mini-LP. 19 songs in total.

1989's Go The Hack was Dirty's last foray with the band and featured the killer single, 'Lost Cause'. The LP edition comes with a download card.

All of these classic '80s recordings by the Psychos have been out of print since the 20th century. With the band's fortunes and notoriety in the upswing this year, expect some big interest in these long-unavailable quality reissues. Blokes you can trust, indeed.

Forte is proud to present these fantastic reissues on the Aarght label from one of Australia's greatest rock & roll bands, the Cosmic Psychos.

The band debuted on wax almost 30 years ago and since then have become an Aussie punk/pub rock institution, touring the globe and influencing a generation of Seattle musicians (Mudhoney, the Melvins and Pearl Jam among them) in the process. On top of that there's the recently released full-length documentary on the band, Blokes You Can Trust, which is doing the rounds in cinemas around Australia and the US, a US tour in September and now these! 2013 is the Year Of The Cosmic Psycho.

Let's start with 1985's Down On The Farm mini-LP. This is the record which made the original splash back in the day and hasn't been in print on vinyl anywhere since that time. Featuring original guitarist Peter 'Dirty' Jones on wah-wah guitar, it's an absolute classic of heavy-duty punk/grunge. The vinyl edition comes with a download card.

The self-titled LP from 1987 is another classic with the original line-up. The download card for the vinyl edition comes with two bonus tracks - outtakes from the same recording session - and the CD also contains the two bonus tracks PLUS the entire Down On The Farm mini-LP. 19 songs in total.

1989's Go The Hack was Dirty's last foray with the band and featured the killer single, 'Lost Cause'. The LP edition comes with a download card.

All of these classic '80s recordings by the Psychos have been out of print since the 20th century. With the band's fortunes and notoriety in the upswing this year, expect some big interest in these long-unavailable quality reissues. Blokes you can trust, indeed.

Forte is proud to present these fantastic reissues on the Aarght label from one of Australia's greatest rock & roll bands, the Cosmic Psychos.

The band debuted on wax almost 30 years ago and since then have become an Aussie punk/pub rock institution, touring the globe and influencing a generation of Seattle musicians (Mudhoney, the Melvins and Pearl Jam among them) in the process. On top of that there's the recently released full-length documentary on the band, Blokes You Can Trust, which is doing the rounds in cinemas around Australia and the US, a US tour in September and now these! 2013 is the Year Of The Cosmic Psycho.

Let's start with 1985's Down On The Farm mini-LP. This is the record which made the original splash back in the day and hasn't been in print on vinyl anywhere since that time. Featuring original guitarist Peter 'Dirty' Jones on wah-wah guitar, it's an absolute classic of heavy-duty punk/grunge. The vinyl edition comes with a download card.

The self-titled LP from 1987 is another classic with the original line-up. The download card for the vinyl edition comes with two bonus tracks - outtakes from the same recording session - and the CD also contains the two bonus tracks PLUS the entire Down On The Farm mini-LP. 19 songs in total.

1989's Go The Hack was Dirty's last foray with the band and featured the killer single, 'Lost Cause'. The LP edition comes with a download card.

All of these classic '80s recordings by the Psychos have been out of print since the 20th century. With the band's fortunes and notoriety in the upswing this year, expect some big interest in these long-unavailable quality reissues. Blokes you can trust, indeed.

With its name indicative of the music's boundary-testing diversity and Southwestern inspiration, On the Border finds the Eagles leaving everything on the table and embracing a harder edge that takes the band out of more relaxed territory and establishes it as a group that knows how – and wants – to rock. Glenn Frey, Don Henley, new member Don Felder, and company immediately announce their intent on the defiant album-opening hit "Already Gone" and never look back, crafting a gem of a record that from start to finish is arguably their most consistent and balanced effort.

Limited to 10,000 numbered copies, pressed on dead-quiet MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and mastered from the original analogue master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's ultra-hi-fi UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP collector's edition pays tribute to the record's significance and enhances the experience for generations to come. Playing with reference sonics that elevate an effort revered by audiophiles, it provides a lively, dynamic, transparent, and intimate view of a release whose contemporary importance continues to grow. The opportunity to zero in on the particulars of the Eagles' golden harmonies, distinct vocal timbres, and cohesive interplay has never been better.

Visually, the premium packaging and gorgeous presentation of the UD1S On the Border pressing befit its select status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. No expense has been spared. From every angle, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the iconic Navajo cover painting to the meticulous finishes.

And with On the Border, there's plenty to take in and soak up. Declared by famed critic Robert Christgau as "the Eagles' best album," the 1974 set claims a rich backstory. Initially recorded amid tumultuous sessions with producer Glyn Johns in London shortly after the release of the group's sophomore Desperado set, On the Border took a new turn after the band elected to scrap most of the prior work, return to its native California, and team with producer Bill Szymczyk to give the material less of a smooth, polished sheen and more toughness. Szymczyk also afforded the Eagles more input and freedom in the arrangements, and suggested adding another guitarist to play on "Good Day in Hell." Felder got the call, and so won over the Eagles with his skills, he quickly became the fifth member of the band.

While the late-arriving Felder only plays on one other album cut, "Already Gone," his mates more than prove their muster on the remainder of a double-platinum affair that established the Eagles as a force whose range transcended the calmer country-leaning style it perfected on their first two LPs. Primarily written by Jackson Browne and shelved during the Desperado sessions due to its higher-energy nature, the throttle-twisting "James Dean" ricochets with barbed riffs and rebellious swagger. Listen without limits to how Szymczyk's raw production stamps the song with a leather-and-jeans cool befitting its protagonist. Similarly rugged, the slide-guitar-fueled "Good Day in Hell" boasts its own mean streak. And the funk-laced, boot-stomping title track cautions "don't you tell me 'bout your law and order." Throughout On the Border, the Eagles are in no mood to mess around.

Not that the band skirts sentimental territory. On one of the era's finest covers, the Eagles nail the bittersweet feelings and bring high-definition detail to the vivid scenery of Tom Waits' "Ol' '55," a song the group makes its own. The rustic ballad "My Man" serves as a tribute to the recently deceased Gram Parsons, with singer-guitarist Bernie Leadon taking the lead on the microphone as he pours his heart out to his former Flying Burrito Brothers mate. And when it comes to romance, is it possible to top "Best of My Love"? Graced with Henley's honey-dipped vocals, refined wordless group harmonies, brushed drums, and the gentle strum of acoustic guitars, the Johns-produced cut soared to Number One and set the stage for what would soon be the Eagles' reality: global dominance.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master recordings, painstakingly transfer them to DSD 256, and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. The exclusive nature of these very limited pressings guarantees that every UD1S pressing serves as an immaculate replica of the lacquer sourced directly from the original master recording. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.

Celebrate the technical expertise of the world's finest LP pressing plant — Quality Record Pressings — with the finest LP sampler ever assembled!

The Wonderful Sounds Of Quality Record Pressings includes music hand-picked by Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem and classical music tracks chosen by the team at Reference Recordings.

Every song meets the criteria of excellent performance, perfect recording and flawless mastering. What better way to celebrate such a monumental anniversary for one of the absolute leading brands in analog high fidelity than with this to-die-for LP sampler? Contains most genres of music — blues, jazz, classical, R&B and female vocal. From now on, you'll only need to carry one demo record around with you.

Vinyl expert Michael Fremer, of Analogue Planet and Stereophile, gives you a track-by-track tour of the history and production of the songs on this special album.

What separates our world-renowned Quality Record Pressings LPs from other manufacturers? Since Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem launched QRP in 2011, the focus has been on producing consistently virtually silent vinyl playing surfaces, as well as reproducing details that were hallmarks of vintage labels — the "deep groove" label of Blue Note LPs, for example.

The craft of pressing fine vinyl is perfected in such details. Such as plating lacquers within 24 hours of their arrival at the plant. Cut grooves are prone to change with temperature fluxuations, high humidity and time. The sooner that lacquers are plated, the better the fidelity of the final pressing. Other keys include using a proprietary silver spray formulation, made fresh daily. And incorporating computer microprocessors on our presses to precisely control press functions with absolute precision. And an imbedded temperature sensor in the dye cycles the press with just as much control. The result — more consistency in each LP, high fidelity and reduced distortion. The ultimate sonic advantage.

In an age where most contemporary bluesmen strive to mimic the past and pattern their music after the greats, Keb' Mo' is content to be himself. Original, charismatic, and immensely gifted, the guitarist/vocalist (born Kevin Moore) brings country blues in the late 20th century on his stunning self-titled Epic debut, which quickly climbed the charts and turned the former backing instrumentalist into a household name. Replete with gritty textures, close-up vocals, and resplendent acoustics, Mobile Fidelity's scintillating version of this 1994 set finally possesses the fidelity that brings Mo's Delta strains out of the backwoods and onto a lively back porch.

Half-speed mastered from the original tapes, this numbered edition 180g LP represents the very first time that Mo's watershed album has been given a much-needed sonic facelift. Gone are the hazes that obscured his singing, artificial ceilings that blunted the highs, and digital fog that interfered with the multitude of illuminating tones, details, and notes. What's revealed is startling intimacy and soothing emotion, Mo's gorgeous vocal timbres and inflections given equal space with his guitar, harmonica, and pace. Finally, a great-sounding contemporary blues record that doesn't resort to derivative recycling and bland revivalism.

The son of Southern parents, Mo' channels his heritage via a batch of superb folksy songs that relax, refresh, and regale. While he's since traveled in a more commercialized pop-oriented direction, Mo's initial salvo is nothing but raw, pure blues played with unbridled passion, tremendous conviction, and what is best deemed the essence of heart and soul. Keb' Mo' engages with a compelling mix of tradition and modernity, the headliner refraining from any attempt at assuming an artificial personality and instead basing his reputation on quality songs. As such, Mo's material resonates with deep, mellow vibes and extraordinary National steel guitar work, which complements his fluid, acoustic finger-picking and soulful strumming.

Mo' occasionally teams with an ensemble. But this record is mostly all about the basics: guitar, voice, and harmonica. Tunes such as "Victims of Comfort" and "Angelina" testify on behalf of his phenomenal country-blues songwriting; his covers of Robert Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen" and "Kindhearted Woman Blues" speak to his reverence for the past. Shuffles, ballads, dance songs – Mo nails them all.

Keb' Mo' remains one of the finest blues albums made in the post-Stevie Ray Vaughan era. Don't miss this American gem that so many have since tried to copy.

Personnel: "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" - Miles Davis (tp); Barney Wilen (ts); René Urtreger (p); Pierre Michelot (b); Kenny Clarke (dr


In 1957, Miles Davis is in Paris for an engagement at the Club Saint-Germain and a wonderful concert at the Olympia Theatre. Once in Paris, Miles came into contact with many members of the modern existentialist cultural environment in the neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-Près. These include the director Louis Malle who had just finished his first movie : "Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud".

Jean-Paul Rappeneau, a Jazz fan and Louis Malle's assistant at the time, suggested asking Miles Davis to create the film's soundtrack. A private sceening has been organized.

On December 4 1957, Miles Davis brought three French Jazzmen - Barney Wilen on tenor saxophone, René Urtreger on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass and his american compatriot Kenny Clarke on drums - to the recording studio Le Poste Parisien without having them prepare anything. Miles Davis only gave the musicians a few rudimentary harmonic sequences he had assembled in his hotel room.
This recording was made at night in a most informal atmosphere.

The soundtrack was not released on it's own in the USA but ten songs from this soundtrack were released as one side of the album "Jazz Track" which received a 1960 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Performance, Solo or Small Group.
"Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud" has become a great achievement of artistic excellence.