Andy Votel, keeper of all things strange and fuzzy, is back with another mind-melting 75+ track mix of beat-centric psyche and international intrigue. My mind boggles at what this man's record collection must look like; every time he drops a new mix,...
expand review I half expect him to run out of freak juice, but the well seems to be bottomless. The genres here span folk to funk, rock to soundtrack material and back again - if it's freaky and rare, Andy Votel probably has it. Killer stuff. 76 minutes. -Larri Byrd
quick audio picks: 12345
A lost Brazilian glam/psych curiosity from '73, the one and only album from this side project of Os Mutantes' Rita Lee and friend Lucia Turnbull. Originally recorded for Philips (and never officially released), these tunes were recently unearthed by some expat Brazilians...
expand review in Europa, professionally remastered and issued in a strictly limited edition (500 hand-numbered copies each for CD and vinyl). Early tracks like "Festival Divino(1)" have a sweet acid/folk boogie feel, buoyed (or maybe lifted) by Rita e Lucia's breathy dual vocals. Meanwhile the latter part of the record lets loose a bit with Cilibrinas' rock tendencies - check the rollicking garage glam sound on "Nessas Alturas Dos Acontecimentos(2)," zippy girl group vibes with "Minha Fama De Mau(3)," and "Gente Fina E Outra Colsa(4)." And for Mutantes fans, there's a nice treat in the form of two unreleased bonus outtakes, "Hoje E O Primero Dia Do Resto...(5)" and "Mande Um Abraco Para A Velha(6)." 12 tracks, 48 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
Cousin Cole and Pocketknife's (aka Flagrant Fowl) Tambourine Dream EP has been on heavy rotation at the Lab from day one. The vinyl version featured 6 unique indie-rock and folk remixes (which are all included here), but the Flagrant Fowl dudes got...
expand review loose on this CD with twelve more remixes that are hitting the spot right now with winter gloominess in full swing. These songs give all the sappy jams that you listened to when your college crush told you she just wanted to be friends, a danceable quality that'll make you glad she didn't lock you down, so you're free to be knee deep in 'tang until graduation.
Standouts on the mix that aren't on the EP include: Cousin Cole's No Bro-Mo House mix of Indie darlings, Panda Bear. Pocketknife brings the mellow heat with his Faded Beach Towel remix of Feist's Gatekeeper. Seu Jorge gets put through the drum machine as "Rebel, Rebel" gets the Tambo D treatment as the mix starts to wind down. This is all topped off with the great artwork from Nathan Fox and design from Strange Attractors on the jacket and disc. Lightly mixed (you could DJ with em, but cop the vinyl for full versions). Comes in a full color digipak. Recommended. -erock
Money Studies kicks off its new "Lost Masters" reissue series by resurrecting this impossible to find mix from Diplo and fellow Philly record hoarder Tony Tripledouble. Originally self-released on CDR in an edition of less than 500 (plus a few handmade cassettes),...
expand review AEIOU 2 is over an hour of the finest and rarest breaks drawn from Diplo & Tripledouble's extensive collections of psych, funk and obscure soundtracks. Some of the breaks in this mix have gone on to achieve classic status - still no tracklist to help you out, but now it comes in a full-color digipak designed by PH. And if you ever wanted to hear Diplo skratching, right here's the spot. Recommended. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 123456
When the Andy Votel-curated B-Music label -- which generally unearths/reissues only the choicest in rare psych LPs -- releases a current album, you know it's gonna be something special. Misty Dixon front woman Jane Weaver comes with 12 stripped-down and lovely tracks...
expand review of modern folk and gentle psych, anchored by her lush vocals and flawless arrangements, which never go over-the-top but which swell and swoon in all the right places. Check out the rambling "Bits & Pieces(1)," rocker "The Pain(2)," "I Already Coped(3)," stringy hippie tones on "Like An Aspen Leaf(4)," plus the killer pair of "Is Everyone Happy(5)" and "It's Not Over Yet(6)." I know I call most every B-Music release "beautiful," but it's 110% fitting in this case. Get familiar! 12 tracks, 48 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 123456
This is one of those CDs that comes in a slip-sleeve with insane rantings from a bunch of famously "hip" musicians on the outside. Jarvis Cocker says "you really need it in your life," Jim O'Rourke calls it a "brilliant suite of...
expand review instrumental concrete madness," and Tim Gane from Stereolab says the album will "leave your mind feeling like it was fried by the anti-sun." Are they exaggerating in the way that us record collector nerds like to do sometimes? Yes… but just barely. Jean-Claude Vannier was the arranger of Serge Gainsbourg's classic Melody Nelson album, but this rare LP from 1972 is nothing near the Francophone stylings of Mr. SG. Instead, it's a symphonic musique concrete piece – at times proggy, at times funky, but always epic and always seemingly on the verge of implosion. Take "L'enfant au Royaume des Mouches(1)," which shifts pace about 5 times, feeling like a collection of loose ideas scraped from inside Vannier's braind and pasted together especially for the record. (It ends, eventually, with the sound of running water and an overdubbed church choir.) Actually, the more I listen to this, the more I agree with those clowns on the cover. Dang. Check these out, too: "Danse des Mouches Noires Gardes du Roi(2)," "Les Garde Volent au Secours du Roi(3)," "Mort du Roi des Mouches(4)." That shit just sounds pretentious, and I don't even know what it means! But it sure is good. And check the bonus tracks at the end: mid-tempo(4) and up-tempo(5) versions of the Gainsbourg-y "Je M'appelle Geraldine." Nice job on the digital remastering, too. Recommended. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 12345678
Wonderfully strange sounds once again from B-Music. This time it's Lubos Fiser's soundtrack for Valerie A Tyden Divu, aka Valerie & Her Week of Wonders, an obscure Czech "hallucinogenic-baroque-witch-flick" from 1973. Fiser's score utilizes choral sections and hypnotic baroque instrumentation ("The Magic...
expand review Yard(1)") and has been hailed by some as one of the finest film scores ever. (Check out Andy Votel, Greg Weeks of Espers, Trish Keenan of Broadcast and more expressing their approval in the liner notes.) Listen: "The Letter(2)," "Dinner(3)," "Sacrifice(4)," "Dense Smoke(5)," "Puppets(6)," "Confession(7)," "And The Last(8)."
Haunting stuff, easily one of the strongest entries in the impressive B-Music catalog. 23 tracks, 45 minutes. Recommended. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 1234
The definition of a lost classic. Lula Cortes (of Satwa fame) and multi-instrumentalist Ze Ramalho recorded and released the fantastic Paebiru in 1974; in 1975, all known remaining copies were destroyed in a warehouse fire, essentially making it a one-off private pressing....
expand review (OG copies have gone for over $1,500 in recent years.) This wouldn't be such a big deal if the music on said record wasn't so damn jaw-dropping and magical sounding. While recording the album, Lula and Ze traveled to the mystic Stone of Inga in Paraiba, Brazil, where they found inspiration amid the archaeological ruins and emerged with this concept album about the four elements. Each element is represented by a different group of instruments or sounds: heavy African drums and animal hooves for Earth ("Trilha De Sume(1)"), woodwinds, breaths, birdcalls and floating acoustic guitar for Air ("Harpa Dos Ares(2)"), blazing electric guitar for Fire ("Nas Paredes Da Pedra Encantada(3)") and loose, free-flowing jams in the closing Water section ("Regato Da Montanha(4)"). On the personal tip, I was lucky enough to get a vinyl rip of this off a hardcore collector nerdus friend some years back, and it hasn't left rotation since. Get open and give this one a spin. An awesome, awesome album. 14 tracks; 56 minutes. Recommended. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 12345
Wow. A really amazing reissue from Finders Keepers' B-Music sub-label right here. This is part of their new Anatolian Invasion series, highlighting forgotten Turkish masterpieces, and if I was ever gonna use the phrase "forgotten Turkish masterpiece," it's for Mustafa Ozkent's Genclik...
expand review Ile Elele. This is the type of psych breaks stuff that dudes like Andy Votel flip over (in fact, he wrote the liner notes) and I think once this CD reissue starts reaching more people, everyone else will be flipping over it too. The (incredibly detailed) liner notes can tell you in better detail, but basically, Ozkent was something of a musical mad scientist, creating instruments to match his vision and then fashioning an entire album chock full of breaks that straddle the line between traditional Turkish music and Western influence. I'm a total dummy when it comes to funk and breaks and shit, and I even I know this stuff is useful. Just check out hypnotic tracks like "Dolana(1)" and the organ-trilling "Lorke(2)," or the one-two power punch of "Emmioglu(3)" and "Carsamba(4)." Even stuff like "Uskudar(5)," which begins the album and sounds vaguely like some old cartoon chase music. B-Music is killing right now! 10 tracks; 30 minutes. Recommended! -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 12345
I was gonna say that Joyce is like Brazil's Madonna, but the fact is that her status in the culture of Brazilian music is pretty much unrivaled here in the States. Her career now spans over 30 years and so many genres...
expand review of music that it would be silly to get into it here, but suffice it to say that this reissue is a real treat. Joyce made this album in 1972 with then-husband (and founding Clube de Esquina member) Nelson Angelo and it's basically Heaven for your ears. Actually, this album draws a lot of comparisons to the Clube de Esquina record from the same year, but there's something so much more ethereal and sweet about this one. Maybe it's the husband/wife thing, or maybe it's just Joyce's flawless vocals over Angelo's vaguely psychedelic acoustic backings. This isn't even the kind of thing that needs audio picks (since you should just listen to it front-to-back in a dark room with a huge spliff) but here they are: "Um Gosta de Fruta(1)," "Linda(2)," "Tiro Cruzado(3)," "Vivo Ou Morto(4)" and "Tudo Comeca de Novo(5)." Recommended. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 123456
Another fascinating and hopelessly rare reissue from Finders Keepers' B-Music sub-label, and another part in their new Anatolian Invasion series. When you hear Selda Bagcan's music discussed (which is rarely, to say the least), it's generally in the context of politics and...
expand review how this self-titled record from 1976 contained a number of non-traditional points of reference, at least in traditional Turkish music. But outside of the lyrical content - all the lyrics are reprinted in the booklet, in English! - this remains a stunning debut and a truly deep slice of Turkish psych-pop. The wah-wah and fuzz funk of "Yaz Gazeteci Yaz(1)," the epic strings of "Nasirli Eller(2)" and the hypnotic repetition of "Ince Ince(3)" all appear within the album's first half - needless to say, it's a pretty varied record. Atop these non-traditional backings, Selda's voice remains a haunting and powerful constant. Also worth hearing: "Niye Cattin Kaslarini(4)," "Utan Utan(5)" and "Nem Kaldi(6)." Also includes bonus tracks not found on the original record. 17 tracks; 60 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 1234567
From the same label who brought you those Serge edit EPs, Le Smoke Disque, here's a comp that digs even deeper into the psych side of Monsieur Gainsbourg. Serge's collaborators on these late 60s / early 70s cuts were French composers Michel...
expand review Colombier, who worked with artists as diverse as the Beach Boys and Prince, and Jean-Claude Vannier, who composed the string arrangements for the classic Melody Nelson LP. Basically, whether you're looking for breaks or just some good dusty shit to smoke and chill out to, this is the Serge you want. (Though, if I could address the heads for a moment - "Requiem Pour Un Con(1)," "Danger(2)" and "La Horse(3)" all include seperate bonuts beat tracks!) Check out the sparse but effective Vannier orchestration on "En Melody(4)" or Colombier's Eastern influences on "Psychasteine(5)." Not just rarities either - classics like "Bonnie & Clyde(6)" with Jane Birkin and the epic "Breakdown Suite(7)" are also included. A very nice (and nice sounding) collection for these long, fuh-reezing cold winter nights. 22 tracks; 60 minutes. -Larri Byrd
quick audio picks: 1234567
Andy Votel's B-Music imprint sticks one toe into the future ("the present," to you and me) with this stunning Jane Weaver-curated compilation of female folk artists old and new. Initially, you might think as I did -- that the only reason to...
expand review check this is for some dusty folk-psych gems -- but I assure you that's not the case. Yes, the throwback stuff like Wendy & Bonnie's "Paisley Window Pane(1)" and Brigitte Fontaine's "Le Goudron(2)" is beautiful, but the more you hear songs like Emma Tricca's fingerpicked "Martin & Me," Misty Dixon's beat-driven "Are You Lost(3)" and The Lights' "Branches Low(4)," the more they get ingrained in your mind. The contemporary artists here aren't trying to sound overly retro, phony or anything - this is just some great current psych/folk music. Even Mz. Weaver and B-Music already-fave Selda get in on the action with "All These Rivers(5)" and "Gesi Baglari(6)," respectively. 15 tracks, 57 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
quick audio picks: 123456
Another great comp from British digger / Slint opening act, Cherrystones, who still refuses to adhere to any specific genre or time period when selecting these things. (The tunes range from the 60s to the 80s with bands from all around the...
expand review globe.) For just a taste of the rare digs contained here, check: the electrifying guitar on Brainbox's "Amsterdam(1)," George Brigman's anachronistic "Blowin' Smoke(2)," Nosferatu's sick French rock styles on "Highway(3)," Midnight Circus' psyched-out "Get It(4)," Episode Six (an early incarnation of Deep Purple) with "Jak D'or(5)
indepth
