An incredible relic of the early days of experimental radio – a series of sound collages from the Berkley-based Music & Folklore program by Henry Jacobs – originally issued in the mid 50s by Folkways Records, and lovingly restored and reissued here by Locust Media! Henry Jacobs was a real pioneer in audio collage – stringing together bits of jazz, folk music, sound effects, and spoken bits in a style that was years ahead of similar late 60s radio experimentation. The approach is sometimes jarring, sometimes comical – but always fascinating – and the note do a wonderful job of telling Jacobs' full story, and uniquely revolutionary views on sound. Titles include "Informal Rhythm Session", "Comments On The Indian Raga", "Loop 2 Channel Rhythms", "Audio Collage", and "Sonata For Loudspeaker". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the most meditative albums ever recorded for the Folkways label – two side-long tracks from composer Craig Kupka, each of which has a dream-like, very hypnotic quality! It's a bit hard to say what exactly is going on here in the instrumentation – we definitely hear vibes, or maybe celeste, plus light guitar, percussion, and a touch of piano – but everything has almost a pillowy sort of blend – so that the instrumentation is abstracted from its roots into something completely different – a really thoughtful sonic experience, and one that definitely evokes the "Clouds" in both of its two numbered titles! (Sound Library, Out Sound) CD

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

A fantastic little record, and one that definitely lives up to its promise – as Vaclav Nelhybel uses piano and electronics with a lot of echo and effects – all to create the sort of music you'd imagine if you were careening through space at the end of the 50s! The songs are relatively spare, but in a great way – a style that lets you focus on key elements in the music, as Nelhybel spins out short songs that often have a core cosmic melody, but with a very offbeat vibe – almost as if Vaclav is trying to claim a role here as the Moondog of outer space! Titles include "Space Meteors", "Sun Lava", "Dark Cosmic Clouds", "Cosmic Dawn", "Space Spirals", "Vibrations From Outer Space", "Cosmic Cycle", "Nebulae", and "Mars Craters". CD

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A great entry in the "intro to electronic music" style that was popular at the end of the 60s – and like others in the genre, a set that seems to use each new track to demonstrate certain aspects of electronic music! Techniques include tape echoes, moogy passages, and even stereo separation effects – and lots of wonderful analogue electronics from JD Robb! The date of the work is 1970, but the approach is a bit older – almost abstract, and very concerned with sonic textures and space – but also playfully assembled, at a level that's fairly tuneful for most of the set – even though there's not really that many "songs" to speak of. Titles include "Collage No 2", "Spatial Serenade (excerpt)", "Green Mansions", "Analogies", "Les Ondes Martenot", and "Transmutations For Orchestra". CD

A very unique project from musician/filmmaker/theorist Michael Snow – not sounds of his own creation, but more of a collage of unusual music from around the globe – presented in a spirit that definitely fits the title! Oddly, when the record was created in the 80s, it was also seen as a swan song to the vinyl LP too – something that never came to pass – and, as well, efforts like this have only continued more strongly in recent years – maybe making Snow's efforts here more of a "beginning", than any sort of document of the end! Still, the whole thing's a fascinating audio document – of the sort that's very different than familiar ethnographic or world music albums – with an array of sounds from Brazil, South Korea, India, Angola, Siberia, Bhutan, and other points global. LP, Vinyl record album

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(Classical, Out Sound) CD

Three very different slices of the genius of Edgar Varese – presented here on a set of classic Columbia recordings from the early 60s! "Arcana" is perhaps the most ambitious work here – structured for an orchestra of 120 musicians, 70 of whom are string players – although the core energy of the piece seems to come from the 8 percussionists who handle a wide variety of instruments – creating those stark sounds that mark some of Varese's most important compositions – which the strings, brass, and woodwinds cluster around in equally powerful ways! "Deserts" is a piece that's more subtle, and much longer – mixing a variety of electronic sounds and instrumental moments, with shifting sonic spaces and volumes throughout – all to make up a side-long recording filled with moody moments and more powerful electronic bursts. "Offrandes" is a selection of two songs – in a haunting blend of woodwind instruments, percussion, and trumpet – plus vocals from soprano Dona Precht. LP, Vinyl record album

Denis Wise plays all instruments on this record – everything but the kitchen sink! Oh wait – the liner notes actually indicate that he does play a kitchen sink – and a garbage disposal too – but in ways that are completely changed, as he mixes them with sounds from a variety of guitars, keyboards, percussion, and various electronic instruments – all in this wild style that's surprisingly earthy and organic! At some level, the music is more a garage version of electro-acoustic modes from the academy – but at another, it's pure unbridled creation, with a sense of sonic joy that really comes through on the best numbers. Some songs are slightly tuneful, and there's maybe a bit of offbeat abstracted vocals here and there – on tunes that include "Balfazzar", "Light As Air", "Valhalla", "Machine Time Ship", "Love In Foam & Surf", "Andro", "Celes", and "Hedonic Rapture". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes works by Wion & Mem, Fennesz, Mem & Wolfram, Zbigniew Karkowski, Pita, Spear, Laleloo, and Vion & Piotrowicz & Staniszewski. CD