Suzanne Ciani has cut some sweeter sets over the years, but this album's definitely not one of them – as the whole thing is an early piece from the artist's career, recorded on the Buchla synthesizer, and based on the work of Charles Baudelaire! The core piece, "Flower Of Evil", features a recitation of a Baudelaire poem right into the Buchla – which then complicates and distorts the voice, as it mixes with these wonderful waves of analogue electronics – bubbling, flowing, and stretching out to create this moody landscape that really would have made the poet proud! The other three selections on the record are even more stark and spooky – still done on the Buchla, but with a vibe that's maybe even more in the mode of some of the Pierre Henry experiments from the same time. Titles include "Glass Houses" and "Token Spokes (parts 1 & 2)". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing! This is one of the coolest sets we've seen in years – and everything about it is fantastic, from the package right down to the triple-length set of music! The set features rare unreleased recordings from Raymond Scott's legendary Manhattan Research electronic music studios – originally set up in 1946, and home to some of Scott's landmark early work on non-acoustic music during the 50s and 60s. Far from being the sort of turgid, dark knob-twiddling that computer music later became in the academy, Scott's early experiments are filled with a sense of whimsy and joy – exported directly from his early cartoon-based work, and applied in a fantastic way to his evolving musical inventions! The LP edition comes in three separate sleeves, plus a great 8 page booklet of notes, in a brilliant graphic style that complements the package even further! Don't forget the music, though – because it's totally fantastic – and kind of reminds us of bits of Jon Appleton's Syntonic Menagerie, Pierre Henry's early Musique Concrete, and later punk-era DIY electronics. That doesn't even come close to pinning it down, though – and with 3 LPs worth of material, the scope of the work is amazing! (Out Sound, Sound Library) LP, Vinyl record album