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Not what you might expect when shopping for African music – unique electronic sounds from Cameroon musician Francis Bebey – as heavy on keyboards as other 70s work is on guitar! There's still plenty of acoustic elements in the mix though, too – lots of earthy percussion at the bottom, which links some of these tracks to other styles of the time – even though some of the more unusual tunes here have these great electronic sounds that almost feel like they came from the late 70s German underground! The mix of modes is breathtaking – as if Moebius and Roedelius recorded with musicians from Lagos – shaking off the colder sounds of the Conny Plank side of the spectrum, to come up with a warm new style that's really unique! Titles include "La Condition Masculine", "Sahle", "The Coffee Cola Song", "Super Jingle", "Pygmy Love Song", "Agatha", "Catching Up", and "Divorce Pygmee". (Global Grooves, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A wild set of electronic work from the American heartland of the 70s – a set that claims to bring you to a "higher stage of truth" – but which has a sound that's a lot more bracing at times than more meditative electronic and new age albums from the decade! Steve Birchall works on a Putney EMS, and really pushes the boundaries of its sonic spectrum – soaring out into space at times, while ruminating in dirtier territory at others – all with a really well-crafted approach that does show a sense of direction amidst the madness! Titles include "Music of the Spheres", "Summer Memories", "Cosmic Carousel", "Abacaba", and "Poseidon's Meditation." LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the earliest work we've ever seen from Steven Halpern, and some of the best – a mid 70s set that predates some of his better-known new age records of later years – and which has a sound that's maybe a bit more compressed and focused overall! Steven's still playing plenty of Fender Rhodes throughout – using the keys in those enigmatic ways that always make his records so great – mixed with light touches on bass, trumpet, electric flute, and guitar – but only at a few points, so that most of the record is just Halpern opening up with these beautiful lines on the Rhodes! Side one features the long "Sound Spectrum Suite" – and side two features "Be Muse Ment", "Trans Pan Dance", and "Subtle Body Suite" – the last of which is actually a funky Rhodes tune! (New Age, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A very different record than usual for Arto Lindsay – definitely one that's at the more artistic side of his spectrum – as the music was done for a sonic installation at a gallery in Switzerland, and is very different than some of Lindsay's guitar work and vocals! In fact, Arto didn't play most of the sounds within himself – and instead, the package features percussion recorded at a temple in Brazil, used in slow-building ways to recreate the energy of a carnaval experience – but with a leaner level that's more suited to the artistic nature of the work. The original 27 channel presentation of the music was reworked into a style that is more suitable for vinyl playback. (Rock, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful larger concept work from Max Richter – based on the writings of Virginia Woolf, which are read at three short points in the set – to introduce the kind of subtle sonic spectrums that we've really come to love in Richter's music! The album mixes together Max's own sounds on piano and modular synthesizer with the larger sounds of the German Film Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ziegler – plus shorter string quartet passages, and occasional solo cello, violin, and soprano voice – layered together in Richter's own studio, with that post-performance sensitivity that's made him one of the key forces transforming the sound of classical performance on record. Gillian Anderson reads some text on "The Waves", Sarah Sutcliffe makes an appearance on "Orlando", and the voice of Woolf herself is heard on "Mrs Dalloway" – but most of the album is instrumental. CD