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Two rare soundtracks from the quirky Bruno Spoerri – both of them a very cool blend of jazzy reeds and lots of electric touches! Teddy Bear is from the early 80s, and is one of the later records we've heard from Spoerri – a set that definitely bears the pedigree of its time, through cool use of Lyricon, Prophet, and Emulator keyboards! Bruno often blows his sax into the keys, then processes the reedlines in a very cool way – with a style that's more soulful than usual keyboard styles of the time, given the acoustic roots of the sounds – yet which still has a great 80s vibe overall. Things are almost in the offbeat style of some of the instrumentals from the German AtaTak scene of the time – and titles include "Too Much Smell", "The Silliest Song", "Reanimation Of A Filmmaker", "Small Talk", "The Arrest Of Groucho", and "Baby Baby". Lilith is from a few years before, and has a more conventional 70s approach – great electric piano lines over tight rhythms, with Bruno handling both tenor and Lyricon – on tunes that mix sound library funk with some of the weirder, more offbeat sounds you might know from other Spoerri soundtracks. Titles include "Singing In The Dark", "Winding Down", "The Dance", "Prepare For The Show", "Train", "Going To Work", and "Fanfare".

Two rare soundtracks from the quirky Bruno Spoerri – both of them a very cool blend of jazzy reeds and lots of electric touches! Teddy Bear is from the early 80s, and is one of the later records we've heard from Spoerri – a set that definitely bears the pedigree of its time, through cool use of Lyricon, Prophet, and Emulator keyboards! Bruno often blows his sax into the keys, then processes the reedlines in a very cool way – with a style that's more soulful than usual keyboard styles of the time, given the acoustic roots of the sounds – yet which still has a great 80s vibe overall. Things are almost in the offbeat style of some of the instrumentals from the German AtaTak scene of the time – and titles include "Too Much Smell", "The Silliest Song", "Reanimation Of A Filmmaker", "Small Talk", "The Arrest Of Groucho", and "Baby Baby". Lilith is from a few years before, and has a more conventional 70s approach – great electric piano lines over tight rhythms, with Bruno handling both tenor and Lyricon – on tunes that mix sound library funk with some of the weirder, more offbeat sounds you might know from other Spoerri soundtracks. Titles include "Singing In The Dark", "Winding Down", "The Dance", "Prepare For The Show", "Train", "Going To Work", and "Fanfare".

A slightly sweeter version of Cluster than on previous records – a bit more focused, tuneful, and rhythmic – thanks to some great use of the "rhythmusmaschine"! Most numbers here have a slightly pulsating feel – one that really prefaces the electronic modes that would come from the UK at the end of the decade, especially the best work of the Sheffield scene. Cluster here show the way brilliantly – taking the longer jams of earlier years, and honing them down into simple melodies and rhythms – yet still delivered with a fair bit of edge throughout, and not nearly as much of the softness that would characterize later work by Moebius or Roedelius. Tracks include "Hollywood", "Caramel", "James", "Rote Riki", "Fotschi Tong", and "Marzipan".

The rare folksy psychedelic solo set from Tommy Flanders of the Blues Project – a fairly stripped down, acoustic guitar and misty-eyed vocals led set of tunes. Moonstone is fairly straight forward singer songwriter record in some ways, with lovelorn lyrics and laidback arrangements – but it has flashes of out there mysticism. The LA session players are impeccable, too! Titles include "Since You've Been Gone", "Blue Water Blue", "Morning Misty Eyes", "Purple And Blue", "Moonstone", "By The Mailbox We Stood", "Angel Of Mercy", "Boston Girls", "Sleepin'", "She's My Love" and more.

A brilliant little album from Harmonia – quite possibly their greatest record ever, and a set that's wonderfully balanced between progressive and electronic modes! There's a live drummer on the set – Mani Neumeier of Guru Guru – and although he still plays with a spare, circular mode that recalls the Harmonia rhythms of before, there's also a slight bit of propulsion here too – one that pushes the keyboards and guitars alongside nicely. There's also some spacey vocals at times, which when coupled with these other elements, gives the record a sound that's a bit like early Neu – although still a bit more electronic overall. A great bridge between two worlds of music in the German scene of the 70s – with tracks that include "Gollum", "Monza", "Notre Dame", "Deluxe", "Walky Talky", and "Kekse".

An electronic prog classic – served up by the Harmonia trio of Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius from Cluster, plus Michael Rother of Neu! The tracks here have a definite Cluster-like sound – instrumentals that use organ, keyboards, guitar, and electronic percussion to build up some wonderfully analogue-styled grooves – often quite slow at first, but filling up nicely as added elements come into the mix! The record's easily one of our favorites from the time, and has a much darker sound than later Moebius/Roedelius work. Titles include "Watussi", "Ohrwurm", "Ahoi", "Dino", "Sonneschein", and "Hausmusik".

One of the building blocks of the late 60s Tropicalia scene in Brazil – and a standout solo debut from the young Caetano Veloso! The album's got an approach that's as dynamic and trippy as its cover image might imply – the same amazing blend of sounds and styles you'd hear on contemporaneous records by Gal Costa or Os Mutantes – served up with similar wit, wisdom, and charm! Caetano's vocals are amazing throughout – filled with raspy power that goes beyond the barriers of language – and the production has loads of surprising elements tripping through the mix – some rootsy, some slightly orchestrated – but with a softer approach that resonates strongly with more psychedelic use of organ and guitar. The album's as powerful today as it was decades ago – an essential recording that holds up beautifully year after year! The kickoff track is "Tropicalia" (surprisingly enough!), and the album is a non-stop ride through gems like "Alegria, Alegria", "Onde Andaras", "Paisagem Util", "Ave Maria", and the groovy "Soy Loco Por Ti America", written by Gilberto Gil.

A landmark album – not just in Brazilian music, but in all modern music in general! The set's a legendary manifesto for the Tropicalia movement in Brazil – and features key works by all the leading musical luminaries in the movement – including a few later stars who are heard here at their most edgey! The work is as groundbreaking today as it was at the end of the 60s – a brilliant testament to the power of artists to really break down boundaries in art and music, and find a way to mix the political with the popular at the same time. Titles include a fantastic version of Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso singing "Baby", the "Tres Caravelas" duet between Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, Gil's great reading of "Bat Macumba" with Costa and Veloso, Nara Leao singing "Lindoneia", Os Mutantes performing "Panis Et Circenses", Gilberto on "Geleia Geral, Caetano doing "Coracao Materno, and Rita Lee, Gal Costa, and Caetano Veloso singing "Enquanto Seu Lobo Nao Vem".

The striking debut of Marianne Faithfull – a complicated mix of folk and pop styles, with a spooky other-worldly sound that's impossible to describe accurately! Marianne's voice has a trilling quality that makes it sound at once ancient and innocent – handled here with lightly drifting backings that create an eerie mood on some of the album's best songs. The set was arranged and produced by Jon Mark – and titles include "Come My Way", "Jaberwock", "Portland Town", "Spanish Is A Living Tongue", "Full Fathom Five", "Down In The Sally Garden", and "Black Girl".

The early 70s Arkestra at the height of their power – recorded in a brilliant live set from 1973, one that showcases the bold soul of the Impulse years! There's a resonance here with other spiritual jazz experiments going on in the US at the time – and Ra and the 25 members strong group seem firmly committed to exploring new freedoms in jazz, yet still work with messages that can reach out to a larger group – themes explored vocally on versions of "Astro Black", "Enlightenment", and "Space Is The Place", juxtaposed by longer instrumental passages that have a cohesiveness that's sometimes missing from other live sets. Other titles the 2LP version include "What Planet Is This? Opening Improvisation", "Love In Outer Space", "The Shadow World", "Watusa/Egyptian March", and "Discipline 27" and "What Planet Is This? Closing Improvisation".

A killer batch of modern spiritual soul jazz – with a classic sound that reminds us a lot of the 70s work on labels like Tribe or Strata East! The New Composers Ensemble is led by vibist Paris Smith, an underground Chicago jazz artist who cut a few very enigmatic albums on his own – and he's working here with a group that includes guitar, piano, percussion, and bass. All the tracks on the CD are originals written by the players on the record – and most of them are strong modal grooves, with a spiraling strident sound that's filled with joy and life, but also a hint of darkness. The interplay of the instruments is unlike anything we've heard elsewhere, and it's the kind of underground treasure that you'd die to find on a rare 70s album – somehow even cooler that it's cut by an obscure group who are working in our generation! A few tracks have a vocalist that's a bit off-beat – and she also reminds us of some of the more spiritual contraltos that would show up on the Strata sets from the 70s – but her contribution to the record also kind of grows on you nicely after a while. Titles include "Tommy Tones", "Sonny's Song", "Lilith Came", "Introspection", "Psalm 37", and "53rd Street Ghost", dedicated to the street where Dusty Groove used to have its headquarters!

Funky electronic sound library genius from Bruno Spoerri – a Swiss 70s composer who cut some incredible work for obscure industrial sources! Bruno's music is heavy on analogue electronics – sometimes used sparely and spacily, but other times in a very rhythmic fashion that's strongly in keeping with the machines, products, and processes his tunes were used to promote! And apart from one great reissue 45 years back on Jazzman, most of Bruno's work has never been heard (at least consciously) by a larger audience – and this excellent LP marks the first time that most of these tunes have ever been made available to the public at large! As with other titles on the Finders Keepers label, there's a mania here that runs through the entire set – a "something's different" sort of feel that really makes the record an instant treasure – yet one with enough of a groove to also appeal to those who dug the funk on Bruno's Jazzman 45! Titles include "Lilith Singing In The Dark", "Soft Art Theme", "Lilith The Dance", "Les Electroniciens", "Oederlin", "Gluckskugel Title", "Drillin", "Lilith On The Way" and "Wer Gwunnt".