(Classical, Out Sound) CD

A modern minimalist watershed – and maybe one of the first indications that Brian Eno was moving onto higher ideas in his music! The album's an important release on the Obscure series from Island Records – a special imprint that was curated by Eno, as a way of giving showcase to new ideas in British music that were neither free jazz, punk, prog, or any of the styles that were getting more play on the bigger labels! Instead, Eno and Obscure was to the British avant composition world what Lovely or CRI were to the US – although maybe had the bigger role of some of the Columbia Records releases by Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley. The album features the beautiful title piece – "Discreet Music", a long work that relies on a simple system of delay and recall, with slight variations occurring over the space of time, due to slight occasional interference from the composer. Side two features "Three Variations On The Cannon In D Major By Johann Pachelbel" – a great reworking of the baroque music classic – which works along similar lines, taking this very familiar classical theme, and breaking it down into simple components, which are then interwoven and played in repetition, creating a strange little bit of romantic minimalism. That second piece is performed by the Cockpit Ensemble, conducted by Gavin Bryars – who also got some great early releases on the Obscure label too! (Rock, Out Sound) CD

A compilation LP of sorts – though at the time of its release most of this material had not been heard in this form! The album's more or less part of the "Ambient" series Eno had started that year with Music For Airports – and it's presented with similarly simple, elegant packaging – a cool divergence from the more striking Eno of a few years before. The set is made up of various bits, record either exclusively for film use, or that in one way or another found their way into films – and contains mostly short tunes, some thematic, others purely sonic wallpaper, but always compelling! 18 tracks, including "M386", "Aragon", "Two Rapid Formations", "Slow Water", "Sparrowfall", "Evenings In Dense Fog", "A Measured Room", "Strange Light", and "Final Sunset". (Rock, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful sounds from the Entourage ensemble – a record that's got a really meditative blend of acoustic elements with a few electric touches – used in ways that start in jazz, then move way beyond! Instrumentation includes guitar, flute, keyboards, violin, and mbira – coming together with really unusual inflections that are partly borrowed from Eastern sources – like Noh theater, or Balinese music – but which unfurl with a more freewheeling, American underground vibe as well! No sounds are ever too sharp, and there's almost a hint of the instrumental experiments in the 80s underground – such as work by Penguin Cafe Orchestra or Soft Verdict – but with an earthier feel overall. Titles include "Jattle Boxes", "Giraffes", "Solo For Electric Viola", "Michael's Song", "Silver Drum", and "Percussion Dance". CD

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(Classical, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

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Remi Gassman and Oskar Sala each present pieces of modern electronic music in this hard to find LP for Westminster, very much in the style that was in vogue in New York in the 50s and early 60s. Gassman performs his "Electronic Music For the Ballet Electronics", which has a spare spooky sound, and Sala gives us "Five Improvisations On Magnetic Tape" – which are a bunch of short electronic tracks with a fragile, yet noisy feel to them. As the back of the record says "If anyone cares, this record has a dynamic range of 51 dB. Its lowest frequency is 15.4 cycles per second, its highest fundamental 3951 cps, the highest harmonis or overtone 15806 cps. It can blow out speakers, traumatize cats and arouse the landlord." LP, Vinyl record album

(Soundtracks, Out Sound) CD

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A really unusual little album – one that partly embraces a globe's worth of acoustic percussion, partly expresses itself in the minimal percussion legacy after Steve Reich's Drumming, and partly embraces some of the electric/acoustic sounds of the New York downtown scene of the early 80s – in work by artists like David Van Tieghem or Peter Gordon! The group use a mix of vibes, balafon, marimbas, and other percussion instruments – then add in occasional beats or other electric elements, but usually in a subtle way – that blend of global and European modes that was also surfacing a bit on the Crammed label at the time. All tracks are instrumental – and titles include "Black Africa", "Back To The Factory", "Kpanlogo", "Biologic Music", and "Adowa". LP, Vinyl record album

Dreamy sounds from Iasos – an early proponent of the world of new age music, but one that's far hipper than the bigger-label acts to come in the 80s! This set is beautifully spare and meditative – two side-long tracks, each a kind of warmer, more sentimental take on territory that Brian Eno was exploring with his ambient music projects – inflected maybe with a slightly spiritual vibe, as you'd guess from the title! Instrumentation is mostly electric, but used in ways that also really show the manner in which these early American pioneers of the format were marking their own space away from German electronic experimentation. The album features extended versions of "The Angels Of Comfort" and "Angel Play – each around the 30 minute mark! CD

Dreamy sounds from Iasos – an early proponent of the world of new age music, but one that's far hipper than the bigger-label acts to come in the 80s! This set is beautifully spare and meditative – two side-long tracks, each a kind of warmer, more sentimental take on territory that Brian Eno was exploring with his ambient music projects – inflected maybe with a slightly spiritual vibe, as you'd guess from the title! Instrumentation is mostly electric, but used in ways that also really show the manner in which these early American pioneers of the format were marking their own space away from German electronic experimentation. The album features extended versions of "The Angels Of Comfort" and "Angel Play – each around the 30 minute mark! LP, Vinyl record album

Bizarre home made electronics from the enigmatic Iasos – an artist who later went onto a bit of fame in the new age, but who's working here in a trippier, spacier, almost psychedelic mode! The style is often quite personal, and almost naive – as Iasos works on guitar, keyboards, amplified flute, and other odd tape and studio effects – all flowing out with a style that's often a bit cosmic, and which could work well as some of the shorter link tracks on an early 70s Impulse album. Tunes are often relatively short, and titles include "Libra Sunrise", "Lueena Coast", "Lagoon Night", "Siren Shallows", "Aries", "Angel Play", "The Bubble Massage", and "Maha-Splendor". CD

Bizarre home made electronics from the enigmatic Iasos – an artist who later went onto a bit of fame in the new age, but who's working here in a trippier, spacier, almost psychedelic mode! The style is often quite personal, and almost naive – as Iasos works on guitar, keyboards, amplified flute, and other odd tape and studio effects – all flowing out with a style that's often a bit cosmic, and which could work well as some of the shorter link tracks on an early 70s Impulse album. Tunes are often relatively short, and titles include "Libra Sunrise", "Lueena Coast", "Lagoon Night", "Siren Shallows", "Aries", "Angel Play", "The Bubble Massage", and "Maha-Splendor". LP, Vinyl record album

(Rock, Out Sound) CD

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(Classical, Out Sound) CD

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Beautiful sounds from the overlooked minimalist composer Craig Kupka – a set that features two very different tracks, each issued by Folkways Records – with a presentation that's both far away from the more academic records of the time, and some of the self-released work of the growing New Age underground! Side one features the long "Trombones Of Lithia" – piece that's heavy on the resonant sound of the trombone, but stretched out in this really longform way – nicely meditative, and clearly processed with a bit of electronics, but still with a warmly acoustic core. Side two features "Crystals" – a tune that has more keys, but a mix of 70s analogue and early 80s digital – again given some elements in the background that make the whole thing feel a lot warmer than you might expect, yet still with some of the experimental elements of earlier electronic composition. CD

Beautiful sounds from the overlooked minimalist composer Craig Kupka – a set that features two very different tracks, each issued by Folkways Records – with a presentation that's both far away from the more academic records of the time, and some of the self-released work of the growing New Age underground! Side one features the long "Trombones Of Lithia" – piece that's heavy on the resonant sound of the trombone, but stretched out in this really longform way – nicely meditative, and clearly processed with a bit of electronics, but still with a warmly acoustic core. Side two features "Crystals" – a tune that has more keys, but a mix of 70s analogue and early 80s digital – again given some elements in the background that make the whole thing feel a lot warmer than you might expect, yet still with some of the experimental elements of earlier electronic composition. LP, Vinyl record album

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Solo piano compositions of Daniel Napoletano, Franco Casavola, Alfredo Casella, Giacinto Scelsi, Vigilio Mortari, Aldo Giutini, Alberto Savinio, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Germaine Albert Birot and Igor Stravinsky. CD

This was an installation piece at the US Custom House in New York City as part of a show called "Custom & Culture" in 1979. The liner notes indicate that "the wire was extended 80 feet through the oval of the Rotunda and was driven by one pure wave oscillator". There was no manipulation of the wire –"the wire played itself". LP, Vinyl record album

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(Classical, Out Sound) CD

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A really cool little package – one that brings space age sounds from both the world of mainstream pop, and the farther reaches of electronic music composition in the postwar years! The core of CD1 is the groundbreaking album I Hear A New World by Joe Meek – presented here both in the "restored" version that was first issued by RPM in 1991, and the original unreleased tapes from 1960. The whole record is like The Ventures meeting space aliens – and Joe Meek composed and conceived the incredible 60s session of strange space-age instrumentals – one that mixes instrumental surf-flavored guitars with crazy sound effects and production techniques, for an out-of-this-world batch of tracks that's like nothing else we can think of! Tracks include "Glob Waterfall", "I Hear A New World", "Orbit Around The Moon", "March Of The Dribcots", and "Valley Of The Saroos". CD1 also features 11 more weird electronic tracks from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop – and from Ray Cathode. Then CD2 and CD3 move into the darker corners of experimental electronics and musique concrete – with works that include "Dripsody" by Hugh Le Caine, "Syncopation" by Tom Dissevelt, "Timbres Durees" by Olivier Messiaen, "Poeme Electronique" by Edgard Varese, "The Innocents" by Daphne Oram, "Fontana Mix" by John Cage, "Visage V (parts 1, 2, & 3)" by Luc Ferrari, "Musica Su Due Dimensioni" by Bruno Maderna, "Deux Etudes De Musique Concrete For Magnetic Tape" by Pierre Boulez, "Fantasy In Space" by Otto Luening, and "Piece For Tape Recorder" by Vladimir Ussachevsky. (Rock, Out Sound) CD

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(Folk/Country, Out Sound) CD

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(Classical, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

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(Classical, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

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(Classical, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

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(Classical, Out Sound) CD

(Classical, Out Sound) CD

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(Classical, Out Sound) CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

(Classical, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album