The recorded history of The Muffins goes back to 1974 or maybe even earlier – even though their first album proper, Manna / Mirage, wasn’t released until 1978. The early...
» Read moreBy 1989, 20 years on from their founding, Uriah Heep had been through a lot of ups and downs, with only guitarist Mick Box remaining from the original lineup (although drummer Lee Kerslake had been...
» Read moreSeattle in the 80s was a hotbed of musical activity, much of it centered around the heavy rock of punk-inflected bands that eventually gave birth to what the world knew as grunge rock. But among...
» Read moreBefore the recombinant U Totem ever hit the streets, baton wielder James Grigsby fronted The Motor Totemist Guild (recently reconstituted as a twelve-piece ensemble featuring members of Non Credo,...
» Read moreWindham Hill used to be known for beautiful acoustic music, be it solo piano or guitar or small groups. Then along came Shadowfax, an eclectic bunch of electric and acoustic musicians with a style...
» Read moreWhen Yellow Magic Orchestra’s first album came out in 1978, listeners around the world were treated (many for the first time) to creative music from Japan, something that wasn’t just...
» Read moreWhen considering the finest releases of the Japanese symphonic rock scene, the first two albums by Mr. Sirius come to mind immediately, not only for their apparent absence of any immediately...
» Read moreThird Ear Band from the beginning was one of the strangest sounding bands, and remains so to this day. I remember bringing home the LP of the band’s first album Alchemy (bought...
» Read moreThird Ear Band from the beginning was one of the strangest sounding bands, and remains so to this day. I remember bringing home the LP of the band’s first album Alchemy (bought...
» Read moreAt about the same time as Guerssen reissued the first two Circles albums in 2016, Bureau B issued this...
» Read moreDutch composer Michel Banabila has been recording and releasing music since 1983 and he has produced musical scores for films, documentaries, plays, and dance. This Early Works...
» Read moreIn the early 80s, with the rise of affordable electronics and recording equipment, cassette culture took off. Anyone with a few dollars could set up a home recording studio and create music....
» Read moreDuring the five years prior to the wall coming down, East German musicians, painters, poets, filmmakers, and performers began to open up new territory, crossing genres and jumping back and forth...
» Read morePulsar was perhaps the best French band in the mid-70s. In fact they were the first French band to be distributed by an English label. From 1975 to 1977 they released three albums culminating with...
» Read moreLed by composer/keyboardist Alfredo Tisocco, and fronted by vocalist Donella del Monaco, Opus Avantra – much like their name might imply, offers a music based in avant-garde classicism mixed...
» Read moreLed by composer/keyboardist Alfredo Tisocco, and fronted by vocalist Donella del Monaco, Opus Avantra – much like their name might imply, offers a music based in avant-garde classicism mixed...
» Read moreMcLatchey's Second Tier
I was about to write that there aren't too many debuts as powerful as this title by Italians Arti e Mesteri but then I realized I had just written...
» Read moreJour après Jour (Day after Day) would be Vander's first all-out pure jazz assault. The trio formation of Vander on drums, Emmanuel Borghi on piano, and Philippe Dardelle on...
» Read moreMuch ink has been spilled about the drumming of Furio Chirico and for good reason: the guy is phenomenal. He is all over the place using all available musical space yet is never bombastic or...
» Read moreRecently Revisited Records, a division of InsideOut Music, has been reissuing a number of German bands from the past: Klaus Schulze, Amon Düül II, and Kraan. To date, they have released...
» Read moreLégendes is Hecenia’s first album, recorded in 1989, released in 1990, and now reissued on CD. If you’ve only heard Hecenia’s second release, La Couleur du...
» Read moreCorrenti Magnetiche was a multimedia improvisational group featuring Riccardo Sinigaglia on keyboards, Maurizio Dehò and Erika Hadju on violins, Gabin Dabiré playing sanza, balafon,...
» Read moreIt sounds like Folli di Dio just missed being on Mellow's Fruit Salad label, as it fits into that most amorphous of genres – neo-psychedelic. Neo-psych is as ambiguous as most genre names...
» Read moreHere in the West Wing of Exposé Headquarters (AKA my house), Thinking Plague occupies a place of honor as the preeminent American avant-prog band, their reputation tainted only...
» Read moreMcLatchey's Second Tier
I'm actually fairly impressed at the longevity of the Celestial Harmonies / Fortuna label; they seem to have been going for decades at this point...
» Read moreFor 1973, Odissea's sole album was far surpassed in innovation, and the collection of shorter songs here seems fairly dated. Regardless, there are some nice moments – symphonic flights...
» Read moreHere is another rarity from the vaults. Zauber was a five-piece who produced only this single album in the late seventies, until their recent reformation (see Mike's New Italian article in...
» Read moreRecorded several months before the album Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh, but not released until 1989, Mekanïk Kommandöh is an interesting early version of...
» Read moreFor those of you wondering who in the world is Fred Baker with the familiar middle name, please allow me to provide background on the educated virtuoso. He’s a Birmingham College of Music...
» Read moreIt's great to finally see this album on CD, the vinyl debut of the underappreciated Tangle Edge. While the band's sound has changed considerably since it came out in 1989, adding sax and...
» Read moreMetamorfosi were more or less a keyboard oriented trio with the addition of a lead vocalist. Their debut album was a very 60s psych/beat album with progressive touches – an overblown concept...
» Read moreOver the last few years, I’ve had several occasions to gush about how wonderful Garmarna is, namely the release of each of their three American CDs (the first two on Omnium, the third on...
» Read moreEveryone should at least be aware of who Kit Watkins is. His first gig was keyboardist with the acclaimed Happy the Man, who released two outstanding albums in the late 70s, for which Kit penned...
» Read moreEach track on this compilation integrates spoken text and sound manipulation, with results both mysterious and captivating. On "A New Dress" Nurse with Wound layers shifting, hypnotic metallic...
» Read moreThe miniscule amount of Forrest Fang's music I heard before this reissue arrived was mostly electronic ambient stuff, which is nice enough but not something I'm going to seek out very often. I was...
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2020-12-09
Harold Budd RIP –
Harold Budd, one of pre-eminent American composers of avant-garde and minimalism, has died of complications from the coronavirus. Budd came to prominence in the 70s, championed by Brian Eno on his Obscure Records label, with music that blended academic minimalism with electric jazz and electronic music. Much of Budd's best known work was done in collaboration with other artists, including Eno, Daniel Lanois, Robin Guthrie, Andy Partridge, John Foxx, Jah Wobble, and many others. »
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2020-11-20
25 Views of Worthing Finally Gets Released –
A while ago, we wrote about the discovery of a "long lost" Canterbury-style gem by a band called 25 Views of Worthing. And now we're pleased to find out that Wind Waker Records has released their music on an LP. »
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2020-10-14
Audion Is Back in Business –
Our esteemed colleague Alan Freeman has restarted Audion Magazine after a seven year hiatus. The new incarnation is available online on their Bandcamp site. Audion's history goes back to 1984, and included 58 issues up to 2013. Issue #59 is available now, and #60 is in the works. »
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2020-10-06
Romantic Warriors IV – Krautrock (Part 2) Is in the Works –
Zeitgeist Media, the people who have brought us the great series of documentary films chronicling the history of progressive rock, are working on the second installment of their examination of German music. Krautrock 2 will focus on artists from Münich such as Guru Guru, Amon Düül II, Xhol Caravan, Kraan, Witthüser & Westrupp, and Popol Vuh. »
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2020-09-09
Simeon Coxe RIP –
Simeon Coxe, best known for his experimental electronics in the band Silver Apples, has died at the age of 82. The band's 1968 debut album set the stage for both German electronic music and experimental punk music a decade later. Coxe died on September 8 from pulmonary fibrosis. »
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Marble Sheep - Stone Marby – This album sees Marble Sheep back together in the studio for the first time since about 1993, and a finer example of heavy Japanese psychedelic music I could not name. There are bits of Hawkwind, Pink... (2002) » Read more
Fred Thelonious Baker - Missing Link – For those of you wondering who in the world is Fred Baker with the familiar middle name, please allow me to provide background on the educated virtuoso. He’s a Birmingham College of Music... (2000) » Read more
Soft Machine - Grides – The translation of Grides means “To cut with a grating sound; to penetrate or pierce harshly.” That’s exactly what this classic fusion quartet was doing on the live stage at the time... (2007) » Read more
The Red Masque - Death of the Red Masque – The Red Masque is a five-piece of guitars, bass, drums/percussion, keyboard+harp, and lead voice. Their promo package proclaims “...An intense and angular blend of avant rock...” and... (2001) » Read more
Apogee - On the Aftertaste – Apogee is the solo project of one Arne Schäfer, guitarist of Versus X. In past issues we have covered his two previous albums The Border of Awareness (issue #8), and Sisyphos (issue #16), both... (2001) » Read more