A really cool blend of voice and electronics – years ahead of its time, and with a vibe that maybe prefaces some of the European industrial work to come at the end of the 70s! Ruth White is well known for her electronic experimentation – right up there with the work of Pierre Henry at the same time – but for this release, she also adds a bit of her own voice too – readings of words from the poems of Charles Baudelaire, but processed in ways that really emphasize some of the darkness in the lines in a really great way! White does all sorts of cool things with her voice, in ways that are again years ahead of their time – and titles include "Owls", "The Cat", "Spleen", and "The Litanies Of Satan". CD

Very early work from Ruth White – a set that's very different than her late 60s electronic experiments, yet one that also still manages to have a similarly sort of creepy vibe overall! The work is exactly what's promised in the title – a set of 24 lullabies, sung in different languages by both Marilyn Horne and Richard Robinson – with light piano backing from Ruth, and a recording quality that somehow makes these supposedly restful songs come across with a vibe that is quite unsettling – maybe the sorts of tunes used to put the kids to bed on the island in Wicker Man! Titles include "English Cradle Song", "Dormi Dormi", "Gaelic Lullaby", "All Through The Night", "Tigua Indian Lullaby", "Danish Cradle Song", and "Prayer Humperdinck". CD

A wonderfully spaced-out album of electronic rock from the early days of Island Records! White Noise are a bit like Silver Apples – mixing trippy rock with odd electronic twists that are all very much in a heady late 60s sort of way. But the "rock" component of the album is a very small one – and the record's got equal parts of the audio trickery of contemporaneous work by Bruce Haack or Jon Appleton. Most of the record is the brainchild of David Vorhaus, but the record also features a bit of drum work by Paul Lytton (who would later do a lot of electronics himself), plus oddly-keyed strings and some goofy vocals from Annie Bird. Tracks include "Love Without Sound", "Here Come the Fleas", and the very long cuts "The Visitation" and "Black Mass". CD

A very cool set from electronic pioneer Ruth White – a record that was originally issued as part of the avant modern series on Limelight, and which has a very different vibe than some of her more easygoing albums! The first half of the set features the long piece 7 Trumps From The Tarot Cards – with very dark, very abstract electronics that really have White matching the energy of Pierre Henry at times – and by that, we mean Henry's moodier, less groovy work that was also being issued on Limelight at the same time! The second half of the record features Pinions – a suite of tracks done for a dance performance based on "symbolic flight" – and for the music, White is maybe a bit more tuneful at times, but still really open to exploring some of the farther, moodier territory in the world of analog electronics. CD

A wonderfully spaced-out album of electronic rock from the early days of Island Records! White Noise are a bit like Silver Apples – mixing trippy rock with odd electronic twists that are all very much in a heady late 60s sort of way. But the "rock" component of the album is a very small one – and the record's got equal parts of the audio trickery of contemporaneous work by Bruce Haack or Jon Appleton. Most of the record is the brainchild of David Vorhaus, but the record also features a bit of drum work by Paul Lytton (who would later do a lot of electronics himself), plus oddly-keyed strings and some goofy vocals from Annie Bird. Tracks include "Love Without Sound", "Here Come the Fleas", and the very long cuts "The Visitation" and "Black Mass". US pressing of the album issued under White Noise in the UK. CD

Beautifully crazy moog material from Ruth White – an artist who could sit on both sides of the moogy fence – approaching the instrument with a bit less of the pop styles of her contemporaries, but in ways that are still plenty darn compelling over the years! Most of the work here is of classical origin, but Ruth also adds in some additional electronics that further abstracts the tunes – and titles include "The Ball" by Bizet, "The Snow Is Dancing" by Debussy, "Gymnopedie No 1" by Satie, "The Flight Of The Bumblebee" by Rimsky-Korsakov, and "Anvil Chorus" by Verdi. Most tracks are in shorter, groovier versions! CD

A sublime mix of art, jazz, and other unusual sounds – served up in tribute to the roving 7 x 7 exhibition series, and with a really beautiful package! The book itself is great – 12" square, and with 64 pages of artwork and writing in the middle – graced by recordings from a rich array of artists, all of them hip – and very well-chosen for the set! Some of the artists here do work that's very different than their usual material – and the set features contributions that include "Yellow" by Sean O'Hagan, "Azul" by Kassin, "Harlem Nights" by Nile Rodgers, "Sahasrara" by Terry Riley, "Blues In Orange" by Archie Shepp, "Zellesenya" by Mulatu Astatke, and "Red Alhambra" by Robert Wyatt. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set – featuring work by Charles Ives, Ornette Coleman, Bela Bartok, and Kevin Volans. CD

One of the earliest albums ever from Harold Budd – an artist who'd later rise to great ambient fame in the following decade, but who's maybe at his most sophisticated here! The set has all the hallmark of the new musical experiments that Brian Eno was showcasing on his Obscure Music label – where the set first appeared – and Budd plays electric piano with a very cool set of contemporary musicians – a lineup that includes alto sax from Marion Brown, harp from Maggie Thomas, marimba from Michael Nyman and John White, and glockenspiel from Gavin Bryars. Brian Eno produced the record, and vocalizes slightly – and tracks have a long-spun, almost spiritual vibe – on titles that include "Bismallahi Rrahmani Rrahmani", "Two Songs (Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord/Butterfly Sunday)", "Madrigals Of The Rose Angel", and "Juno". (Rock, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work from the modernist underground late 50s Paris! Andre Hodeir was one of the city's best-known jazz composers and arrangers at the time – a key part of the postwar scene, and its development into its own style away from strictly American sounds. Hodier's working here with a great batch of French players that include Martial Solal, Roger Guerin, Pierre Gossez, and Pierre Michelot – plus the then-French resident Kenny Clarke. The music swings much more than on other sessions of this type, and works extremely well throughout at blending tight jazzy lines with very "out there" concepts – especially in a way that we never really see in 50's recordings like this. Christine Legrand is on vocals, and although this was years before the Swingle Singers did their thing, and especially before they went onto do avant garde material by Berio, she's got these insane vocals here that are simply astounding. Tracks include "Jazz Et Jazz", "Trope A Saint-Trop", "Jazz Cantata", and "Osymetrios". Very good stuff, and unlike anything else we can think of! (Jazz, Out Sound) LP, Vinyl record album