Suche:the tape

Apart from their own works composers, musicians and producers Brandon Wolcott and Emil Abramyan already had a joint release with YouAndTheSpace Between, the opener on the Don't Break My Love release on Nicolas Jaar's Clown & Sunset label in 2012. In the same year the two have approached by theater artists Michael Silverstone and Abigail Browde of 600 Highwaymen to compose music for a new work of live performance called The Record. Aside from a simple series of prompts and directions, the music was composed independently of the choreography. Drawing from backgrounds in theatrical sound design, classical composition and experimental electronic music, Brandon Wolcott and Emil Abramyan sought to create a diverse tapestry of sound, striving for a dynamic emotional arc that might elude a sense of genre or recognizable form. The music is performed live, with Emil on cello and structured into six songs on the Mini-LP Music of The Record to be released at the end of November 2017. Brandon Wolcott is a Brooklyn based sound artist, composer and theatrical sound designer. His work has been heard at venues including The Pubic Theater, Lincoln Center, Park Avenue Armory, Mass Moca, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and Centre Pompidou. He has released music with Wolf + Lamb Music, Archipel Records and Nicolas Jaar's Other People. His dance-music project Smirk, has been presented at venues and festivals around the world, including Communiky, Mutek, Save, Dispatch, and UnSound.

The premiere soundtrack release to Peter Weir's 1977 Australian New Wave classic.
Lost electronic score from the enigmatic composer Charles Wain.
12-track LP sourced from the original stereo master tapes.t.
180g vinyl and deluxe packaging including archival film stills and original press material

The Last Wave (also known as Black Rain in the US) was the final chapter in a trilogy of films scripted and directed by the leading auteur of the Australian New Wave, Peter Weir.

Beginning in 1974 with the absurdist black comedy-horror The Cars That Ate Paris, and followed a year later by the lush gothic mystery Picnic At Hanging Rock, The Last Wave was a landmark in existential horror. Sitting alongside other Australian eco-terror films (e.g. Long Weekend) the film featured a haunting electronic soundtrack that is as mysterious and beguiling as the spiritual themes of the film itself.

With no LP issued after the films premiere in 1977, and together with the mystery surrounding the true identity of its enigmatic composer 'Charles Wain', the score is a largely unheard recording of pioneering experimental film electronics, easily compared to the music that contemporaries Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream were composing for Australian films during the same period or the electronic soundtracks of John Carpenter.

Tense atonal electronics, synthesizer drones and manipulated Didjeridu all perfectly capture the film's ominous atmosphere, punctuating the slow hypnotic pace of this brooding supernatural thriller. The Last Wave soundtrack is released in conjunction with the lost film music to Nicolas Roeg's 1971 New Wave masterpiece Walkabout composed by John Barry.

Alésia Cosmos was a collective of musicians led by Bruno de Chénerilles formed in the early 1980s in Strasbourg, France. The group consisted of Pascal Holtzer (guitar, synthesizer, tapes, drum machine, vocals), Pierre Clavreux (vocals, gong), Marie-Berthe Servier (vocals), Bruno (guitar, tapes, synthesizer, drum machine, vocals) and Tunisian percussionist Lotfi Ben Ayed (darbukas, bendir). In 1981 Bruno composed and wrote some sci-fi radio plays for French state radio channel France Culture. Under the influences of William Burroughs, John Cage, Pierre Henry and others, he developed tape music studio work. By 1982 he appeared for the first time under the name Alésia Cosmos Furi Show. It was a solo performance on guitar, voice, analog synth and tapes. This experimental show lead to a music project based on Bruno and Pascal's compositions to be performed and recorded with other musicians in the beginning of 1983.

Exclusivo! was the group's debut album recorded and self-released in 1983 on Planetarium. Pascal and Bruno would compose tunes in their personal home studios. Then they would bring the tapes, electronics, guitar lines and lyrics to experiment and rehearse with the other members of the group. Improvisations and adaptations brought more ideas and the album was recorded in a few days. The result was a musical mixing of electronic music, field recordings, North African and Asian percussion, electric guitars and voices, compositions and free improvisations. All four musicians take turns singing onomatopoeic phrases and backing vocals, even sometimes in an unknown language, a sort of mixed bag between Breton and Japanese. All songs have been remastered cut by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP is housed in a replica of the 1983 cover and includes a 6-page insert with photos, lyrics, reviews and liner notes by Bruno de Chénerilles.

Dark Entries returns to the New Jersey basement studio of Smersh to unearth an 18-minute jam session from 1989, backed with two contemporary remixes. Smersh was the duo of Mike Mangino and Chris Shepard from Piscataway, NJ who began making music together in 1978. They were uninterested in traditional notions of songwriting or live performance. Between 1981 and 1993 they released over 40 cassette albums on their own Atlas King imprint. As these tapes traded their way across continents, Smersh developed a devoted following in places far beyond New Jersey, leading to releases on dozens of other labels from around the globe.

Sideways' was taken from a cassette titled '100', which refers to a 100-minute jam session the band recorded to tape on June 12, 1989 in Piscataway. The track was composed and performed by Mike, utilizing a Roland TB-303, TR-606, SH-09 and an ARP 2600. A frenetic hybrid of techno and acid with driving EBM style beats, Sideways' weaves intricate industrial noises with synth melodies that drift in and out of phase. On the flip are two fresh remixes by different aliases of prolific Ann Arbor producer Tadd Mullinix. As JTC, he expands the sound palette, adding organ stabs and lush pads, drawing on Detroit deep house and UK garage.The Charles Manier remix features chanted vocals on top of an array of pulsating synths, stark percussion, and post-punky guitar effects. Each song has been carefully remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is sleeved in a replica of the '100' artwork, which designer Eloise Leigh modified using motifs and textures sourced from the original cassette. Also included is an oversized postcard with notes.

This long awaited deluxe special edition, originally recorded and released on cassette in 1982, sees a timely release after the success of Cosey's recent autobiography 'Art Sex Music' (pub. by Faber & Faber). Available now for the first time on vinyl this deluxe special edition has been remastered and edited from the original audio tapes for this exclusive vinyl release. It is presented on super clear vinyl, in a gatefold sleeve incorporating a foil block title and is accompanied by a 16 page full colour 12' booklet containing the original cassette transcripts and photos plus many new and updated statements and colour photos.

There is no end to composer Peter Broderick's creative output, and so we present to you his new album titled All Together Again — available worldwide on November 17th 2017 via Erased Tapes.They say music takes you on a journey, and this collection of commissioned work by Peter quite literally does that. From a ferry boat ride in Istanbul, to walking down the aisle at a wedding, these songs were created for particular situations, yet Peter found a way to work without any sort of limitations and on his own erms. The result is an assortment of works from the past ten years, coming together as one: Peter's new album. Words from Peter, October 2017: Ever since I started releasing records in 2007 (10 years ago now!), people have contacted me periodically to ask if I'd be interested in making music to accompany their projects. Most of these projects have been things like films, dance pieces and theatre plays . . . but every so often I get the odd request for something a little different. Peter, would you write a song for my wedding My one year anniversary A ferry boat ride
In early 2015 I was asked to perform 12 minutes of music during a runway show as part of New York Fashion Week. I agreed and began composing a 12-minute piece which I could perform on my own with a few different instruments and some looping pedals. I made a recording of the piece and sent it over to my contacts at the fashion show . . . but a few days before I was to fly out to New York, they wrote back and told me they actually just wanted me to play a few older songs that they were already familiar with. Feeling slightly disappointed, I shelved the other piece, giving it the title If I Were A Runway Model.It is with great pleasure that I now present this piece in a collection of commissioned works spanning the last decade . . . it's All Together Again. This group of oddball works does indeed include a couple pieces written for weddings (Our Future In Wedlock and The Walk), and a song someone asked me to write as a gift for his wife on their first year wedding anniversary (Emily). And indeed, there's a 17-minute piece written to accompany a ferry boat ride in Istanbul (A Ride On The Bosphorus). A few of the pieces were written for films (Robbie's Song, Atlantic and Seeing Things), and one for a kind of interactive installation (Unsung Heroes).In my early days of recording, I took pride in playing all the different instruments myself and doing the recording myself as well. And then at some point I started branching out, working with other musicians and recording engineers. But this record is very dear to me in that it's a return to that original approach . . . playing all the different instruments myself, working with my limits on each one, and my own limits in recording and mixing. I've always held a broad curiosity for all different instruments and all different styles of music, and if nothing else I hope this record will portray that curiosity, and my pure love for this thing we call music. Can you dig it The cover art was made by Peter himself in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, by cutting and sticking different coloured paper fragments to depict the individuality of each track.

Returning to Iceland to focus on fresh material, Kiasmos will release new EP 'Blurred' through Erased Tapes on October 6th.
Janus Rasmussen explains: "To write new material felt like a new beginning for us after two years of touring. The plan was to write something a tad darker than our previous stuff. Spring in Reykjavík had other plans though, as this turned out to be our brightest release to date." Remixes on the EP come from Bonobo and Stimming, each taking Kiasmos' music in fresh directions

"On Suicide's First Rehearsal Tapes, recorded in 1975, Alan Vega and Martin Rev create minimalist aural structures, traces of which would surface on their eponymous debut album, released on the Red Star label in late 1977.

These songs are not a sketchpad of semi-formed ideas. The First Rehearsal Tapes comprise an audio diary of two men out in the ether, measuring themselves as evolving individual artists and as a unit who would rely on inseparability to realize their unique and often confrontational mass in the decades to come. What the tapes also reveal is that Vega and Rev were compositionally ambitious, capable of melody and form, while resisting definition as they headed further into uncharted territory.

The First Rehearsal Tapes afford the listener a glimpse into the creative process of two groundbreaking, true art warriors with their swords and shields leaning against the practice room wall. To understand the absolute brilliance of Suicide's first album as well as their sonic adventures that followed, you have to start here with their earliest recordings."

- Henry Rollins (excerpt from the liner notes)

Transversales is a French label based in Paris founded by Sebastien Rosat & Jonathan Fitoussi.
Transversales is specialised in the reissues of long lost tapes, rare original soundtracks and library.
Jonathan Fitoussi is a French composer residing in Paris. He works on minimalist and contemporary musical forms. He's also audio restoration engineer at INA & INA GRM. Sebastien
Rosat is a French Music Supervisor working for Films, TV and Advertising. He's also a member of French electronic duo Sommet.
This first release is the original soundtrack of the film Rock, composed in 1982 by Bernard Parmegiani (1927-2013). A major figure of Electro Acoustic music and member of the historic GRM
(Groupe de Recherches Musicales) where he composed an important work of concert, among which is the masterpiece: De Natura Sonorum.
The work of Parmegiani, a virtuoso of the magnetic tape, is widely known to the public even without their knowledge, through the famous title he composed for the TV program Stade 2', for the French radio France Inter and also through the jingle adopted by Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris (1971 - 2005).
Bernard Parmegiani produced a large number of jingles, soundtracks and indicatives but ROCK stands apart in his repertoire. He recorded it without any outside constraints in his own studio. On listening to ROCK, one is reminded of John Carpenter or François de Roubaix: a work which mixes the sounds of the TR-808 drum-machine, Synthi AKS, Farfisa organ and Clavinet.
Limited Edition Remastered from the Original Master Tapes / Exclusive liner notes

Released by Butter Sessions and Noise In My Head who are also known for their offshoot Efficient Space (Sky Girl, etc) - All Exclusive Tracks! Scratching the surface of Australia's independent electronic massive, Butter Sessions and Noise In My Head finally compile the second volume of Domestic Documents. Featuring all exclusive tracks, Perth godfather Ewan Jansen joins new WA blood Phil Stroud and Senate, respectively making hectic percussion tracks and hell bent techno, as Newcastle transplant Roman Nails emerges with his squelching one take tape experiments. Meanwhile in Melbourne, Fia Fiell's ambient mind maze and Butter Sessions alumni Booshank target the cerebral cortex, Hotrod goes full turbo and live/DJ wingmen Miris and Norachi share the same side of their vinyl debuts (alongside the freakishly underrated Colours of Infinity - aka Kloke). Kangaroo Skull and Cale Sexton fly the flag for Temporal Cast, the latter on a calming club collab with Sleep D. - Liner notes from Ivan Smagghe and artwork from Misha Hollenbach (Perks and Mini) - Features many rarities reissued for the first time ever (Karen Marks' most wanted Australian cold wave single last sold for 290€ while Once traded for 170€) - All tracks officially licensed, sourcing original masters when available - Includes digital download

For the fourth release on 6dimensions, Steve Bicknell has delved into the catalogue of the Lost Recordings series on his previous imprint; Cosmic.Steve Bicknell's Awakening The Past feature three tracks from Why And For Whom, the first of Bicknell's Lost Recordings releases. Originally released in 1996, Why And For Whom Has been named one of the best UK Techno records of all time with Bicknell being billed as a 'criminally underrated producer'.With the re-release of these tracks in 2017, it is clear to see that the tracks have stood the test of time. All four-tracks on Awakening The Past were previously untitled but have been renamed with a focus on the human condition. With the 6dimensions label being founded on the principles of the 'human mind's natural make-up' it seems a natural decision to rename the tracks to suite the label ethos. Although one quarter of Awakening The Past was released 20 years ago, Bicknell's focus on mood shows coherence between his work then and now. The era of production can be distinguished in the EP, however, this is only eminent through a difference in recording technique. More importantly, the mood of older and newer productions are indistinguishable from each other and display Bicknell's unrelenting dedication to his own focus on concept of aesthetic. Physical Life' opens the EP with a rawness that is carried through the EP. With tape hiss underpinning the track, Bicknell's signature bass grumbles hold together hi-hats which progressively filter in and out over the course of the track. Bicknell's use of filters carries through onto the second track of EP, 'Natural Vibrations' boasts an erratic and high-pitched 303 sequence that shows a bit of experimentalism before the EP steps back into Bicknell's more familiar techno odysseys. 'Fearing The Minds Fears' paints a tense atmosphere, lashings of motoric modular synth are added with little fuss as the track title confirms its significance. Finally, 'Conscious Awakening' drives the EP to a close with dizzying pace: it's here that Bicknell's ability to control the emotion of the listener is really evident.

Listening to Unknown Path's Pathfinder for the first time is a claustrophobic experience. It's as if the tracks had been recorded to tape and left to decompose for 10 or so years, then dug up and re-recorded. A thick layer of grunge and an overall murky feel sets the tone for Path 0.1 and continues throughout the EP. Paths 0.2 and 0.3 add a more upbeat feel to proceedings, as the beats get scattered around like they were in a pinball machine. Path 0.4 finishes off the experience by bringing the tempo back down, while all the time keeping the uneasy atmospherics that make this EP a unique and rewarding listen.

Bewitching Avant-Pop album from impromptu supergroup built around acclaimed Japanese duo, Tenniscoats. Featuring members of Notwist, Jam Money and Joasihno.

In these dark and uncertain times, there's an ever-growing collective of peaceful, loving types, bound together by an understanding of one peculiar word: Tenniscoats. Aside from being the name of an influential Tokyo-based duo, it represents fun, artistic freedom, experimentation and - perhaps most important of all - inclusivity.

A Tenniscoats gig is rarely the audience watching the performers. Instead, Saya and Takashi regularly shun the stage in favour of any particular spot that takes their fancy, whether it's an empty seat in the auditorium or the roof of a neighbouring cafe. In the world of Tenniscoats, music can happen anywhere, and everyone is invited to join in.

During the winter of 2016, the music happened in Munich. As a long-time fan, Markus Acher (Notwist) jumped at the chance not only to put Tenniscoats on the bill at the Alien Disko festival he was organising, but also to invite Saya & Takashi to a small apartment studio, together with Mat Fowler (Jam Money) and Cico Beck (Aloa Input, Notwist). This is where Spirit Fest was recorded over the following 14 days.

Tenniscoats are known for their collaborations - some of their finest work was done in conjunction with Tape, The Pastels, Jad Fair and many others - so making good use of the time and friends available was natural to them. For me, timing is important,' Saya said. We met in season, and the song flowers are now blooming!' Mat Fowler recalls the Spirit Fest sessions taking place in an idyllic, festive atmosphere. Every morning we'd all share breakfast, chat and learn about German Christmas customs. We'd catch the bus in the morning and walk home in the evening. The journey ran parallel to the beautiful flowing Isar River that bubbles, ebbs and flows right through the middle of Munich.'

While Tenniscoats sit at the heart of proceedings, it isn't their album alone. Markus, Mat and Cico also brought songs, providing a solid base on top of which the artistry could evolve. Mat explains that, a melody would begin, and slowly, each of us - in our own time - would find our way into the music.

Producer Tadklimp would sensitively set-up around us in this narrow window of time, so as to document that first and intuitive moment of collective discovery.' Nearly everything was recorded live,' agrees Markus, playing and singing together in one room with piano, guitars, percussion and some keyboards.' The collaborators came from Germany, Japan, the UK, Greece and beyond. That sense of inclusivity is palpable.

From the tender beauty of Markus's River River' and Saya's Mikan' to the electro-Merseybeat of Tenniscoat's Nambei' and the half-crazed pianica-reggae of Shuti Man', the resulting album is a testament to the manner of which these musicians are able to channel their songwriting through their spontaneity. It's also a snapshot of a gentle and intuitive moment in time - a beautiful meetup that expands this community, happily, even further.

Jon Willks (Grizzly Folk)

'Shays Vacation House' is a work that feels suspended in time - both ancient and modern -- a microcosm that ceases to exist in any particular time or space...exceptional acousmatic sound design animates amorphous creatures and entities, whose movements echo on dripping walls, yet the eerie, mysterious environment remains entirely ambiguous. hovering above the post-apocalyptic landscape of a scorched planet regenerating. Emra Grid's second Opal Tape is a profoundly beautiful work, loaded with emotional weight

Brewing another supremely heavy release on the horizon, Moonshine Recordings is stealing the spotlight once again. Proudly presenting Violinbwoy's first solo album, unadulterated sound system pressure at its finest. Slavic chants and drum rhythms meet the unrivaled power of Violinbwoy's eccentric take on modern bass music 'Fyetisov' kicks off the stellar 3x12" release with a high-powered Stepper emission. Setting the tone with a rumbling bassline and supremely energetic lead instrumentation, full force sound system music down to its core. Shining in a different light, 'Moonspell' reveals its melancholic nature gradually intensifying through otherworldly percussion and anthemic vocal sample placements. Stripped down to its bare bones,'Dubplate' unleashes its detuned, percussive shackles for a massive onslaught of four-to-the-floor, while keeping true to Jamaica's music roots. Warbling tape echo spheres and excellence in emotive expression Violinbwoy's collaboration with singer Marina P turns out to be an anthem by itself enthralling, whoever gets caught into the midst of this hymn of a track. Not backing down one step from the established level of quality, 'Sound System' featuring Junior Dread excels once more in a crystal-clear demonstration of modern roots music mandatory repeat listening. Rejoicing in simplicity, 'Rig Alert' holds true to what the name suggests - cinematic bass meditation, fluidly scaling with the size of its speaker counterpart. Moving on to Dan s vocal skills in 'Wanted': Rastafarian wisdom chanting along a skanking rhythm and orchestral atmosphere. Ethereal bells being submerged in moving air and scattered white noise, 'Run & Hide' demonstrates a more experimental side within the LP exhibiting Downtempo/Ambient inclinations in a magnificent combination with Dub characteristics, only increasing in energy to the call of the dub siren. Ready for more, the title track 'dod' captures us within the expressive, introductory playing of the violin, deserting it for echoes and sub oscillations alike. Calling upon the prowess of Rider Shafique, his harmonic toasting is being escorted by a forward-minded halftime groove in 'Find The Way'. Topping the LP off with Sis' excellence in telling a story through song on a hypnotic instrumental. The nature of last tunes is often powerful, serving to concede with an explosion, appropriate of the session as is the case with 'Surfacing' closing off the monumental EP with visceral lead movements, setting the tone alongside driving drums and one more murderous bassline, sure of receiving countless rewinds in the near future. Encompassing a plethora of current Roots- Dub- and Steppa- influenced styles, Moonshine's next LP installment is sure to be received for what it is: a definitive, quality expedition of what's firing up dance floors around the globe.

Repress
Leuk en Ko is the Dutch bastard child by Unit Moebius members Jan Duivenvoorden and Richard van den Bogaert. Creating a vault of hard to classify material from mid eighties until early nineties, it didn't get out there for whatever reason. After ''De Snoei 1'' appeared on ''World of Rubber 3'', the big follow-up is here â an album of 13 selected ''songs'' mastered from tape, pressed on vinyl and put in a nifty package (song texts included!) that works like a charm at home, on the floor or at a funeral.

Some songs comes along that you seem to know the moment you hear it, even though it's for the first time. In the case of Spark The Universe it had exactly that impact. A mixture of late-60s psychedelic homage, early 80s new wave, white boy soul, plus a good dose of dub, all wrapped around a killer hook and super tight production and a hit was surely made.
The fact there are many deserving records that don't become a hit doesn't mean some are better than others and in fact, the joy in collecting and reissuing is finding amazing songs and bringing them back.
Increasingly heard in the sets of the more discerning DJs, Spark The Universe has become a cult play and with second hand prices now in three figures, a reissue is timely. As the label oft says, no one owns this music other than the writers, musicians and producers and their craft deserves to be appreciated.
Before going on to carve a successful career in 'electronica' project, Euphoria, Toronto's Ken Ramm had shown his considerable writing and playing ability with the 1981 debut LP Dragon and this 1983 follow up, known simply as Ramm.

Coming together through a meeting with a then relatively unknown producer, Daniel Lanois, via a mutual interest in tape loops and dubbing, it was the suggestion to bring in local vocalist Lorraine Segato that Ramm formed.
Recording at Lanois' Grant Avenue Studios, his interest in mixing past and present technology, with multiple digital delay units, harmonizers and other effect processors allowed Ramm and Lanois to explore using the studio as an instrument alongside real musicianship.

Backwards guitars, tremolo bar dives and guitar harmonics are incorporated with the vocals and percussion to perfection. With a 'Dance' and alternative 'Dub', the song's hypnotic and dreamy feel superimposed over beats pin-pointed to the later Euphoria project and with the addition of a latter day 'Discomix', from the labels' own Chuggy, Spark The Universe deserves it's place on contemporary dancefloors.

Professor Rhythm is the production moniker of South African music man Thami Mdluli. Throughout the 1980's, Mdluli was member of chart-topping groups Taboo and CJB, playing bubblegum pop to stadiums. Mdluli became an in-demand producer for influential artists (like Sox and Sensations, among many others) and in-house producer for important record companies like Eric Frisch and Tusk. During the early '80s, Mdluli projects usually featured an instrumental dance track. These hot instrumentals became rather popular. Fans demanded to hear more of these backing tracks without vocals, he says, so Mdluli began to make solo instrumental albums in 1985 as Professor Rhythm. He got the name before the recordings began, from fans, and positive momentum from audiences and other musicians drove him to invest himself in a full-on solo project. It was the era just before the end of apartheid and house music hadn't taken over yet. There wasn't instrumental electronic music yet in South Afric a. As the '80s came to a close, that was about to change. Professor Rhythm productions mirror the evolution of dance music in South Africa. They grew out of the bubblegum mold - which itself stems from band's channeling influences like Kool & the Gang and the Commodores - into something based on music for the club. His early instrumental recordings First Time Around and Professor 3 mostly distilled R&B, mbaqanga and bubblegum grooves into vocal-less pieces for the dance floor. Musically, these were a success and commercially the albums all went gold. There were countless bubblegum albums flooding the marketplace, with nearly disposable vocalists backed by mostly similar-sounding rhythm tracks. Most of the lyrical content was light and apolitical. But the keyboards used formed the musical basis for what would come next. By the time Professor 4 and this recording Bafana Bafana - the name references South Africa's national soccer team - were released in the mid-1990s, k waito had fully emerged. Access to instruments and freedom of expression helped its rise in influence among youth. According to Mdluli, "Once Mandela was released from prison and people felt more free to express themselves and move around town, kwaito was becoming the thing." Lyrically, kwaito championed the local township lingo while adapting "international music," house music, into the local context. "International Music," as house music and early kwaito were interchangeably known, in many ways reflects the sounds coming from America. But South Africans made it their own. Today, the largest part of the music industry is occupied by house music and its relatives.

Franco Battiato is often heralded as Italy's answer to Brian Eno. A quizzical composer/lyricist, Battiato turned pop music upside down in the early '70s with three classic LPs - Fetus, Pollution and Sulle Corde Di Aries - that formed a confluence of avant-folk sensibilities and analog electronics.

Pollution from 1972 is the captivating follow-up to Fetus. Like its predecessor, the album features Baroque textures, motorik rhythms, weird tape effects and Battiato's perfectly oblique vocals. Upon hearing Pollution, Frank Zappa joyfully proclaimed it "genius."

While Battiato's core group of collaborators remains largely the same as on his debut, this phenomenal band (joined by an eighteen-year-old Roberto Cacciapaglia on keys) appears even more in the foreground on Pollution. Out of the Ash Ra Tempel-like riffs and urgent guitar strumming emerge hypnotic grooves and cinematic flourishes, suggesting a futuristic meeting point between Stereolab and Ennio Morricone.

Dedicated to the Centro Internazionale Studi Magnetici, Pollution touches on themes of environmental catastrophe. Futurist allusions seep in through eccentric lyrics (at times sung backwards) about hydraulics, magnetic fields, etc., yet listeners don't need to speak the artist's language to grasp his melancholy vision. With Pollution, Battiato solidifies not only his cult figure status, but also many of his forward-thinking ideas on rock 'n' roll.

Superior Viaduct is honored to present the first-time domestic release of Pollution on vinyl. Reproducing the original gatefold jacket, this reissue is part of an archival series that chronicles Franco Battiato's masterful body of work from 1971 to 1978.