A trio of early 70s LPs from Klaus Weiss & Niagara – in a massive 3LP wood box set! First up is the 1971 self-titled debut – a pretty astonishing set of heavy, hypnotic drums and percussion. It features just 2 long jams, "Sangandongo" and "Malanga" and it's pretty much an all percussion affair! Sub is a legendary bit of heavy funk. The lineup here includes fuzzy guitar, electric piano, and of course, lots of heavy percussion – all served up in a way that's jamming, but a lot more straightforwardly funky than some of the group's contemporaries on the European scene! Ack Van Rooyen plays trumpet, Ferdinand Povel plays tenor and flute, and the production is often very tripped-out – abstracting the jazz roots a bit with some really cool touches. A great bridge between the MPS scene and the more progressive German groups – with titles that include "SUB", "Bones", "Niagara", "Terra Incognita", "Gibili", and "Kikiriti". Afire is another seminal percussion effort – and an album with a very strong focus on the rhythms – but the groove is still somewhat melodic too, thanks to inventive use of some of the smaller, more tuned percussion instruments by other members of the group. There's almost a funky batucada groove going on here – a rich, round sound that comes from a very tight small combo! Titles include "City Walk", "What For", "Terpischore", "Carnival", "Rhythm Go", "Dance In Seven", "Rolling", "Malanga Two", and "The Third One". LP, Vinyl record album

Part hip hop, part abstract beats – and one of the more soulful and hip hop based late 90s/early 00s sets on Ubiquity! Features guest appearance from scene mainstays 2 Mex, Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone, Medusa, Abstract Rude and others. Tracks include "For Those Who Never Dream", "Leading To The One", "Monotone", "Sun Child", "Fiend Or Fix", "Planets Ain't Aligned", "Inner Eye", and "Sixth Sense". CD contains the bonus track "Faces Of The Deep". CD

One of the weirdest, wildest albums ever from Nurse With Wound – and a set that's completely different than most of their other material too! The album's got a feel that really lives up to the cover – sort of a parody of 50s lounge music, filtered through the sensibility of mid 80s British industrial – which means that the sounds come from an array of different elements – including original records, old tapes, live performance, and lots of electronics and production twists – which really abstract all the elements into this mad sort of bachelor pad nightmare! There's still plenty of the noise we love in NWW, but also a surprising sense of humor – not one that goes for easy jokes, but which like Current 93 at this point, is really beginning to find its aesthetic and hone its skills. The bulk of the record features the maddening "You Walrus Hurt The One You Love" – and the rest is "Great Balls Of Fur", billed as the last performance of Murray Fontana! Great 2CD version features a whole bonus disc of rare materials recorded at the same time – including "Elderly Man River", "Chicken In Drag", "Yoko's Anniversary", "It Just Ain't So", and "Excerpt From Pricksongs". CD

A massively expanded version of a legendary album – presented here as a 2CD set, with 22 tracks that appear on CD for the first time ever! At the core is the original Dubbing With The Observer album, the first-ever dub album from Niney The Observer – based around rhythms he'd cooked up for Dennis Brown, Max Romeo, and Delroy Wilson – all transformed completely in the studio by King Tubby! The sounds here are often very abstract – light years away from the originals – and given these spacey, repetitive cycles that seem to trip out even more than conventional dub! A landmark little record, and one that sounds even darker all these many years later – with cuts that include "Casanova Dub", "Rebel Dance", "Jam Down", "Parade Dub", "Turntable Dub", "Corn Man", "Mister D Brown Skank", and "Youth Man". The set then goes way way deep, with 37 more bonus tracks, that really take off as a magnificent demonstration of Niney's skills in the studio – all presented here with very detailed notes that really get at this important moment of genius in the history of dub! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic album of spacey keyboards, and one of the most abstract albums from the team of Matt Cooper and Andreas Allen. The tracks have the band's usual slow funky feel (which we love!), but there's also a very strong focus on electronic keys – played in a bubbling 70s style that sounds like it was lifted from a lost soundtrack, or some killer CTI session. Titles include "Piano-scape", "The Moon After The Fall", "Sketchbook Of A Voyage", and "Finding ALH84001". There's some nice guest appearances, including a trumpet solo by Byron Wallen – and the whole album's a very tight package, and a must for fans of Marc Moulin, Slide Five, or Chris Bowden. CD

A fantastic Art Pepper album – from his best period! The album's one of those smaller-label, mid 50s gems that Art cut in LA during some of his "troubled years" – all sessions that are great musically, but which are often overshadowed by some of Pepper's more famous work for bigger, more enduring labels. If you're at all a fan of Pepper, though, don't pass this one up – because the album's got a razor-sharp edge that's really wonderful – a keen exploration of tone that we'd rank right up there with a rare few Pepper albums of the time – and which is carried off here with an approach that's disarmingly easy-going, but very carefully placed on every note. Marty Paich's the real leader of the group on piano – even though we think Art's the star of the set – and bass is by Buddy Clark, and drums by Frank Capp. Titles include "Abstract Art", "All The Things You Are", "Marty's Blues", and "Pitfall". CD

Fantastic solo sounds from guitarist Jeff Parker – a set of recordings that were all done live, with no overdubs at all – but which really show a complex approach to his overall sound! Parker's almost in some of the more abstract territory here as on some of his Chicago Underground Duo recordings – but he's also maybe a bit more tuneful, while also more introspective – showing us a personal, human side of his music that's extremely moving – and which really comes as quite a surprise, compared to some of his other records. Some numbers almost have a Jim Hall-like fragility, while other points are more creatively textural – and the whole thing is really wonderful, and represents a whole new step for Parker – a musician who's already been blowing our mind for about 20 years. Titles include "Super Rich Kids", "Slight Freedom", "Mainz", and a beautiful take on "Lush Life". LP, Vinyl record album

Viola player Jessica Pavone leads a string trio here – but the result is very different than you might expect, if you're only thinking of music in terms of jazz or more traditional elements – as there's a blend of strings, textures, and tones here that's completely wonderful! In addition to Pavone's viola, the group also features Aimee Neimann on violin, and Abby Swidler on both viola and violin, depending on the track – both musicians who add their voice to one track, along with Jessica – but mostly have this way of finding great sonic resonance together, with a quality that's both abstracting from the original modes of the instruments, yet never too far to make them sound unfamiliar. Titles include "Done & Dusted", "Hidden Voices", "The Pitches & Notated", and "Closeness Unnoticed". CD

Quite a weird little record – part psychedelia, but with some really rootsy elements – and also some odd use of recorded music as well! The sound here is really mindblowing – experimental and trippy, but never too free or over the top – and the core instrumentation includes lots of fuzzy guitar, organ, and rough percussion – plus additional vocals in parts, and even a bit of sitar as well! The production abstracts some of the sounds nicely, but never too much – and at times a more traditional Japanese style of music lurks in the background, possibly as a brief nod to the Buddha in the title. Most unusually, though, is that the first track on the record features part of a David Axelrod album playing in the background! There's clearly an Axelrod influence going on – both in the structure and sound of the record – although the group also take things very much in their own direction too. Titles include "Shomyo (part 1)", "Flower Strewing", "Prologue", and "Prayer (parts 1 & 2)". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal album from the American underground of the late 70s – the debut of Pere Ubu, bursting forth from the Cleveland scene with a sound to challenge the greatness of anything coming from New York or LA at the time! The album's not exactly punk, not exactly art rock, but has strong elements of both – all wrapped around the unique conception of singer Dave Thomas, whose vocals are some of the oddest ever recorded! The tunes here are a lot more straightforward and upfront than some of Pere Ubu's later work – in a way that definitely makes the album their biggest favorite with new generations of indie rockers. But there's also still a fair number of more experimental touches too – odd sonic tricks and almost-abstract moments that were quite revolutionary for the time – especially from Cleveland! Titles include "Non Alignment Pact", "The Modern Dance", "Chinese Radiation", "Real World", "Life Stinks", "Over My Head", and "Humor Me". LP, Vinyl record album

The most uncategorizable grooves in the canon of Guillermo Scott Herren – his Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and otherwise keys-and-drums centered Piano Overlord guise – and a collection of rare vinyl singles cut from 03-05! Maestro Scott wrote, plays, and produced all the tracks – done with lots of keys, drums and samples – and range from abstract atmospherics to a more rollicking, beat driven approach. Tracks include "Walk Home", "Another Marion B Moment", "Spring's Arrival", "Spring's Demise", "Agorophobia", "Recuerdas?", "Stay Home", "Intermission Thing", "Running JCH For All His Beats And Jewels", "Triste Maita", "You Stole My Stereo Outro", "Diplo Electric Manatee Final Mixdown", "The Overlord Meets The Adventure Time In Sleepy Keys", "Agorophobia (Count Bass D interpretation)" and "No Community (Blu Jemz K Kings version)". CD

A wonderfully strange mix of electronics and sounds from around the planet – as Alain Pierre uses field recordings from Thailand and Mexico, then mixes them with these really special creations of his own! Some of the other recordings are presented almost whole, but with some augmentation in a subtle way – and these are then balanced by Alain Pierre's own work, which moves between the more moody, abstract quality of the sound library scene of the 70s, into territory that's maybe more familiar to ears trained on musique concrete! Titles include "Des Morts", "Funerailles Chez Les Hmongs", "Clown", "Fete Des Morts Chez Les Indiens", and "Cryogene". LP, Vinyl record album

Groovily tripped-out work from vibist Dave Pike – and one of the few American albums that matches the experimental sound of his work for MPS! The session's often quite free and open – in a way that not only uses odd instrumental combinations and arrangements, but which also features some offbeat production by Herbie Mann that further abstracts the sound! Elements of Pike's earlier work shine through in a few of the more straightforward groovers, but his new European-endowed sense of hipness wins in the end – thanks to a good deal of modal grooves, psychedelic elements, and even a bit of fuzzy Fender bass! Other players include Lee Konitz on alto sax, Don Friedman on piano, Chuck Israel on bass (electric and acoustic), and Eddie Daniels on tenor and clarinet – and titles include "Free Improvisation", "The Drifter", "Ballad", "The Doors Of Perception", and "Anticipation". LP, Vinyl record album

Really great work from Psychic TV – much more obscure than most of their albums from the time, and a set that shows the dreamier moments of the group's earlier work moving into much more abstract territory – but without some of the forced aggro qualities of other records from the time! The material was recorded live, but then manipulated for the record – as Genesis P-Orridge handles "noise bass" and violin, with lead guitar from Alex Fergusson – plus contributions from assorted Icelandic musicians who join them for the performance. Porridge definitely sings at points, but in a way that's often muted, and more part of the overall sound – on titles that include "In The Nursery", "Those Who Do Not", "Attraction Romantique", "Thee Full Pack", "What's A Place Like You", "Skinhead", and "Unclean". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most important Sun Ra albums from the early years of Saturn Records – a set that got a bit more circulation than some of his other records, and which shows the group really expanding their sonic range in a wonderful way! The title track takes up all of side one – and is this mystic workout that features Sun Ra on clavioline and piano – an acoustic/electric combination that creates really mindblowing results – and which is echoed by some very inventive reed work from Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, Pat Patrick on baritone, and John Gilmore on tenor. The tune has a brooding intensity that's amazing – very spacey at times, and free, but not in an aggressive way. Other tunes follow in their own rich pattern – and also feature Ra on Sun Harp, celeste, dragon drum, and marimba – on titles that include "The Shadow World", "Abstract Eye", and "Abstract I". CD

A fantastic album from Sun Ra and the Arkestra – one that we'd rank right up there with our favorites on the Saturn Records label! The work here has never been issued, and it's extremely beautiful, too – pulled from a few just-discovered studio sessions done after the group was parting ways with Impulse Records, and mostly recording in a live environment! There's an intimacy to these studio tracks that's a nice difference from some of the more freewheeling live work of the period – moments that almost hearken back to the exotic jazz of the earliest Saturn years of the group, mixed with some other currents that seem to point the way towards the excellent Horo Records material to come – especially in the way Ra is phrasing things on his piano. Most groups are relatively small, and titles include the lovely "Island In The Sun" with Marshall Allen on some great flute; a studio take on "Unmask The Batman", better known from live sets, and a playful tune that hints at the group's work on the Dan & Dale Batman album in the 60s; a spiritual stormer "I'll Wait For You", with great piano from Ra and an excellent tenor solo from John Gilmore; and a take on "New Dawn" with work by Marshall Allen on alto, Elo Umoe on bass clarinet, and Danny Ray Thompson on baritone. CD

Compelling photographic portraits snapped during the pandemic – done at a distance, as most of the faces here were presented to the photographer via Facebook Messenger – but also given a very organic component, as the camera shot the images through a real-world filter – often a transparent object of glass, which creates all sorts of distortion in the image! The resulting photographs come across in a variety of modes – sometimes very abstract, some with a more shadowy, edgey kind of Berman-esque sort of vibe – dozens of images, presented in full color throughout. Book

Quiet beatcraft from Rehash – slowly building into beat heavy abstract funkiness – and a nice little quartet of instrumental moodpieces! Drone By Default finds Rehash taking a sidestep into post rock strummed sounds – and a deeper groove than the downtempo ether of their previous wax! Titles include "Blind Folk Can See", "Tema De Alta Mar", "Drone By Default" and "Untitled". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Wonderful stuff from one of the most overlooked arrangers of the 50s! Richards was Stan Kenton's right hand man at one time – and he's got a style that mixes jazz and modernism in the same style as Pete Rugolo, but with a bit more of a commitment to swinging. This rare 1958 set for Capitol is less experimental than the title might make you think – but the jazz is infused with plenty of freshness, and the whole thing's packaged in a really wonderful abstract cover! Players include Gene Quill, Ray Copeland, Frank Socolow, and Julius Watkins – and titles include "Terpischore", "Neolore", "This Time", and "Omo Ado". LP, Vinyl record album

Abstract instrumentals by producer/beatmaker Samiyam – on his Stones Throw debut – with just a couple of vocal cuts with guests Jeremiah Jae & Oliver the 2nd, Action Bronson and Earl Sweatshirt! Lots of cool, oddball samples on this one, with a timeless sense of tripped out beatcraft. Good stuff. Tracks include "Taco Chase", "Blowed", "Animals Have Feelings", "Surprise", "Mirror" with Earl Sweatshirt, "One Day", "Paddle Boat", "Ronald", "Gumdrops", "Not A Fluke", "Smoke Break" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A gem of a record from pianist Finn Savery – a set that's at once immediately modern, yet also filled with warmer tones and sadder notes from years past! In a way, Savery seems to link together the 60s experiments of pianists like Steve Kuhn or Keith Jarrett with a more timeworn sensibility that takes us back to small club piano of the postwar years – a unique blend of modes that darts out boldly at one minute, but holds close with a sense of sentiment the next. The trio here features impeccable work from Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass and Alex Riel on drums – and titles include "Queen's Fancy", "But Not For Me", "Willow Weep For Me", and "Satin Doll" – but all done in very abstracted versions that are unlike anything we've ever heard before! LP, Vinyl record album

We're not normally the biggest fans of hip hop photo books, but this one really does a great job of breaking the mold – by featuring excellent photographs of live performers and their audiences by David Scheinbaum – and interspersing the images with writings by Michael Eric Dyson, Brian Hardgroove, Gaye Theresa Johnson, and others! The book's got a nicely poetic feel – and although contemporary, some of the images almost have a timeless feel that recalls the Back In The Day book by Jamel Shabazz – while others are abstractions that really change up a conventional mode of hip hop portraiture. Photos are both color and black and white, and the book is 160 pages, hardcover, and done in a very nice style by Damiani Press. Book

An electronic masterpiece from Klaus Schulze – a set that's inspired by the famous novel Dune, but which has a landscape that's all its own – thanks to Klaus' incredible way of putting sonic elements together! As with most of his best from the 70s, the tracks here are very long, and build slowly, almost dreamily – using plenty of electronics and keyboards, but with some slight exotic elements in the phrasing to hint at the narrative in the book – but abstracted nicely, maybe in ways that Dead Can Dance would take up later, in a different style. Arthur Brown provides a small bit of vocals at one point, and there's some additional cello too – but overall, most of the sounds come from Klaus – on titles that include "Dune" and "Shadows Of Ignorance". CD features the bonus track "Le Mans". CD

Amazing! This is one of the coolest CDs we've seen in years – and everything about it is fantastic, from the package right down to the double-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! Plus, the whole thing's packaged in this super-cool hardcover book, with a whopping 140 pages of notes, photographs, old advertisements, and interviews – all done 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 2 CDs worth of material, the scope of the work is amazing! CD

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! LP, Vinyl record album

One of THE classic Zoot Sims small group recordings of the 50s – recorded with a quintet lineup that includes some great valve trombone work from Bob Brookmeyer! The overall sound isn't nearly as modern as you'd expect from the title (and in fact the cover, which has Zoot sitting in front of an abstract statue, kind of grimacing, might even be taken to imply that the "modern" in the name is a bit of a joke!) But given that Brookmeyer's phrasing is fresh and inventive, and that Sims could easily be moved into some challenging territory with the right players, the set's certainly got a quality that ranks it up there with the best of its contemporaries – no matter how you define the term "modern"! Other players include John Williams, Milt Hinton, and Gus Johnson – and titles include "September In The Rain", "Down At The Loft", "Our Pad", "One To Blow On", and "Dark Clouds". CD features 2 bonus cuts – "When The Blues Come On" and "Buried Gold". CD

Possibly the biggest album ever from Welsh singer Meic Stevens – but a set that's still pretty darn obscure, nonetheless! The album's all in English, and was recorded as a key outing for Warner – before Meic went back to his homeland, and went virtually underground. The style's quite unique, a raspy blend of folksy elements and some slight more sophisticated tones – echoes of Dylan and Leonard Cohen in some of the arrangements, but all abstracted nicely once Meic's unique vocals come into play. All tunes are Stevens originals, and are often quite personally poetic – and titles include "Dau Rhosyn Coch", "Ballad Of Old Joe Blind", "Ghost Town", "Midnight Comes", "Yorric", "Love Owed", and "Left Over Time". CD features bonus tracks – "Stealing The Railroad" and "I'm Not The One To Ask Why". CD

Pure genius from Tangerine Dream – a record that came out right at the start of the 70s, and immediately cemented the group's reputation as one of the most inventive electronic acts of the decade! The tracks are long and spacious here – very much in the territory of some of the group's Krautrock contemporaries, but with more of a sense of openness, and patience – as they never rush things at all, while layering together their unique blends of guitar, organ, percussion, flute, and anything else they can think of – even a coffee machine! Chris Franke handles the electronics, but Steve Schroyder abstracts them with "several echo machines" – while Edgar Froese helps them all remember to keep things tuneful at times. Tracks include "Sunrise In The Third System", "Fly & Collision Off Comas Sola", and the side-long "Alpha Centauri". CD

Tangerine Dream delivered a number of famous soundtracks in the late 70s and early 80s – but this set is one of the most obscure, and maybe one of the wildest too! The music was done for an Australian horror film, and has a very dark, moody vibe – still plenty of the Tangerine Dream touches you'd know, but also a bit more noise and murky moments too – and less of the fast-running keyboard lines and electronics that usually grace most of their moments in film! Much of the instrumentation is electronic, but abstracted in all these cool ways – and certainly handled with a lot more depth than some of the younger film composers who were often turning out music like this on a limited budget, with limited instrumentation. Titles include "Murder In The Classroom", "Horror In The Bathroom", "Experiments In Tension", "Tension In The Graveyard", "Kill The Professor/Cleaning Up", and "Pete Goes In For The Kill". LP, Vinyl record album

wicked little record, and one that lives up to its Space Invaders theme right from the start – thanks to a host of sweet electronic touches from Scientist, over a set of killer head-nodding dubs from Roots Radics! The group themselves are in totally top form – massive bass from Flabba Holt and drums from Style and Santa – topped with wicked guitar licks, and some sweet organ lines from Winston Wright – but it's clearly Scientist who's the star of the show, for the way he cooks the elements together and comes up with a sound that more than does justice to the extra-cool cover! Familiar elements are nicely abstracted, and juxtaposed with clever shifts in the studio – all to create massive dubs that include "Beam Down", "Red Shift", "Time Warp", "Cloning Process", "Pulsar", "Laser Attack", "Dematerialize", "Fission", "Super Nova Explosion", and "Quasar". 2CD version features bonus vocal tracks – by Wayne Wade, Wailing Souls, Sammy Dread, Linval Thompson, and Johnny Osbourne! CD

A wicked little record, and one that lives up to its Space Invaders theme right from the start – thanks to a host of sweet electronic touches from Scientist, over a set of killer head-nodding dubs from Roots Radics! The group themselves are in totally top form – massive bass from Flabba Holt and drums from Style and Santa – topped with wicked guitar licks, and some sweet organ lines from Winston Wright – but it's clearly Scientist who's the star of the show, for the way he cooks the elements together and comes up with a sound that more than does justice to the extra-cool cover! Familiar elements are nicely abstracted, and juxtaposed with clever shifts in the studio – all to create massive dubs that include "Beam Down", "Red Shift", "Time Warp", "Cloning Process", "Pulsar", "Laser Attack", "Dematerialize", "Fission", "Super Nova Explosion", and "Quasar". 2LP version features bonus vocal tracks – by Wayne Wade, Wailing Souls, Sammy Dread, Linval Thompson, and Johnny Osbourne! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Well, the Three Sounds have always been more soulful than modern – and about the only thing "modern" about this pre-Blue Note release is the abstract painting on the cover! But that doesn't stop the record from being a great little batch of soul jazz piano tunes, played by Gene Harris and the early version of the Sounds that included bassist Andrew Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy. Titles include "Rat Down Front", "Mr Lucky", "Let's Dance", "Elbows & Armpits", and "There's Something Nice About The Rain". CD

A boogaloo album, but one that's a lot trippier than most – and definitely worthy of the psychedelic reference in the group's name! As with so much of the best work from the Venezuelan scene of the late 60s, the music here draws on references from up north, but really abstracts the sound – almost as if the boogaloo had to go through a bit of a filter on the way down to Tono, where it picked up some cool production techniques, offbeat keyboards, and lots of other elements – often set to rhythms that aren't straight Spanish Harlem grooves, and instead also borrow bits from Colombia and Peru! Most of the record is instrumental – and titles include "Mr Boogaloo", "No Te Bote", "Chin Chin", "El Basuero", "Borinquen Bell", "El Guaycol", and "Las Hojas Secas". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from the immortal Tribe Called Quest – one of the absolute essential hip hop LPs, and a record that should be an anyone's shortlist of the best albums in several subsections of hip hop – just a straight up masterpiece anyway you cut it. The album is so high up on the ladder, we're a loss to add any fresh insight o the critical consensus, so just get it. Classics one after another, steeped in bass note snapping, head nodding funk jazz beatcraft of the first order! "Buggin Out", "Excursions", "Rap Promoter", "Verses From The Abstract", "Check The Rhyme", "Everything Is Fair", "Jazz (We've Got)", "What?", "Scenario" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A huge batch of material in one well-done set – a package that brings together four classic late 70s albums in a dee jay style – all produced by Joe Gibbs, and two of which have never been on CD before – all with bonus tracks and the usual top-shelf Doctor Bird presentation! As the dee jay mode rose up strongly in Jamaica during the mid 70s, Joe Gibbs was one of the key producers to really get the sound just right – layering the spoken, sing-song vocals over heavy rhythms in just the right way – less abstract than dub tracks, but also a lot looser and more flowing than more mainstream work of the time – especially in comparison to some of the big global reggae hits. At the time of such fame, Gibbs just dug deeper with material of this nature – served up here on the albums Three Piece Suit by Trinity, Under Heavy Manners by Prince Far I, Natty Superstar by Ranking Joe, and Inna Him Head by Prince Mohammed – the last two of which have never been on CD. The set's got 44 tracks in all – which includes bonus titles too! CD

A pretty cool, seemingly unlikely duo effort on Rhymesayers – pairing up underground hip hop mainstay Aesop Rock and avant indie vocalist Kimya Dawson of Moldy Peaches! It actually works well! Aesop's no nonsense sounding voice can deliver even the most abstract lyrics with strength and authority and it pairs well with Dawson's oddball nursery rhyme style. Includes "Kryptonite", "Delicate Cycle", "TV On IO", "Earthquake", "Organs", "Superheroes", "Jambi Cafe", "Scissorhands", "Eyeball Soup", "Teleprompters", "WYHUOM", "Boomerang" and more. CD

Warm soul and jazz-funk steeped grooves from Glenn Underground – a Chicago house mainstay who's really crafted an excellent set here – one that pays tribute to some of the best dancefloor soul and club funk of past decades, with a timeless groove of its own! Glenn keeps the bass and the beats danceable, underneath 70s soul jazz inspired keys, Afro funk rhythms, and spacey club grooves galore. Very nice work! 8 tracks, mostly running to around the 9 minute mark, stretching out the groove nicely! Titles include "Negro Muzic", "Abstract", "Shake It", "Prelude", "Seven Minutes Of Funk", "What Glenn Thinks", "Blazed" and "Thought Of Groove". CD

A spooky space age fantasy put together by electronic music Joel Vandroogenbroeck as a sound library project – done right around the early years of his famous group Brainticket, but with a much more abstract quality overall! The tunes are sometimes groovy, but mostly fall on that darker side of the sound library spectrum – all sorts of cool elements rumbling down at the bottom of the sonic palette, mixed with some higher-soaring electronics and keyboards – yet all at a level that really fits the dark-tinged image on the cover! Titles include "Riflessione Introspettiva", "Hertz Blues", "Risonanze Estaiche", "Curva Di Energia", "Angolazione Acustiche", "Eco Cosmico", and "Ricerca Di Sintonia". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing music from the legendary Scott Walker – a set that's even darker and more powerful than Drift – but which also shows a new sort of sensitivity as well! Walker's musical journey has been amazing – from teen idol to crooning poet to country singer, new wave experimentalist, and the incredibly artistic and reclusive talent of recent decades. Yet Bish Bosch is something completely new entirely – a record that bursts out with noise one minute, then shifts to sparely expressive passages the next – all in ways that kind of recapture the poetic charm of the initial Walker solo records, while wrapping it up with all the fiercely artistic energy of the later ones. There's a very abstract vibe to the record at points – not rock, never pop, and not even anything close to the vocalizations you'd hear from anyone except the most experimental or avant artists – yet somehow still in that amazingly deep tone that Walker could craft when singing for a mainstream audience. These contradictions, and many others, are what really make the record sparkle – and tracks include "See You Don't Bump His Head", "Corps De Blah", "Phrasing", "The Day The Conducator Died", "Tar", "Dimple", and "Epizootics". CD

Cedar Walton plays both electric and acoustic piano in this sweet and overlooked 70s set – a soulful trio outing with Sam Jones on bass and Louis Hayes on drums! The set was recorded live, and has that soaring, exploratory style of Cedar's best work of the time – pushing off a lot from his 60s work with some more abstract approaches to rhythm and solos. Titles include "Voices Deep Within Me", "Firm Roots", "I'm Not So Sure", and "One For Amos". LP, Vinyl record album

Early brilliance from tenor genius David S Ware – one of the first records issued under his own name as a leader, and maybe still one of the greatest too! The album has Ware working with the Apogee trio of Cooper Moore on piano and Marc Edwards on drums – in these long-blown lines that are an immediate inheritance of the late legacy of John Coltrane – played in that searing, searching style of Coltrane's final years – but maybe given even more depth and directly here by David! Ware's approach is wonderful throughout – always soulful and meaningful, even in the most abstract moments – very fully-formed, and still completely tremendous after all these years. Titles include "Prayer", "Thematic Womb", and "Primary Piece #1". First-ever reissue – with lots of bonus tracks that include "Solo", "Prayer", "Cry", "Stop Time", and "Ashimba". CD

Early brilliance from tenor genius David S Ware – one of the first records issued under his own name as a leader, and maybe still one of the greatest too! The album has Ware working with the Apogee trio of Cooper Moore on piano and Marc Edwards on drums – in these long-blown lines that are an immediate inheritance of the late legacy of John Coltrane – played in that searing, searching style of Coltrane's final years – but maybe given even more depth and directly here by David! Ware's approach is wonderful throughout – always soulful and meaningful, even in the most abstract moments – very fully-formed, and still completely tremendous after all these years. Titles include "Prayer", "Thematic Womb", and "Primary Piece #1". First-ever reissue – with lots of bonus tracks that include "Solo", "Prayer", "Cry", "Stop Time", and "Ashimba". CD

Very organic, very meditative music from Klaus Weise – not the famous German drummer of a similar name, but a more obscure sonic pioneer – and one who works here to mix together ideas from Eastern spirituality with a hauntingly abstract approach to instrumental music! This first volume in the Qumra series features the long "Palace Of Mirrors" suite, broken up into four passages – beautifully glowing sounds created through the use of singing bowls, tambura, zither, cymbal, and drums – plus natural sounds from birds and the human voice, the last of which is very transformed in the recording, past the point of recognition! CD

Very organic, very meditative music from Klaus Weise – not the famous German drummer of a similar name, but a more obscure sonic pioneer – and one who works here to mix together ideas from Eastern spirituality with a hauntingly abstract approach to instrumental music! This second volume of the Qumra series extends things out a bit from the first – still continuing Weise's experiments with "natural sound", evoked from both the human voice in a very transformed state – next to slowly-building sounds on singing bowls, cymbal, zither, drums, and tambura – all woven together in a really lovely soundscape! CD

Wendy and Lisa really break out of earlier modes here – and hit a style that showcases a more sensitive, singer-songwriter orientation that's a welcome change from some of their too funky modes! The groove here is a little hard to pin down exactly – but there's a great sense of textures in the sound that almost echoes the image on the cover – a style that has the lyrics of the tunes really taking center stage in front of the rhythms, and which features instrumentation that's often nicely abstracted from its source – kind of shimmering and glowing behind the vocals. Titles include "Mother Of Pearl", "Strung Out", "Rainbow Lake", "Porch Swing", "Why Wait For Heaven", "Valley Vista", and "Staring At The Sun". 2CD version is bursting with bonus material – tracks that include "Eric's Ghost", "Stones & Birth", "Balance", "Minneapolis #1", "C-Ya", "Strung Out (g-strung 7")", "Rainbow Lake (12 into 7 rmx)", and "Don't Try To Tell Me (alt version)". 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

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

Jazz harpist Amanda Whiting offers up a nicely changed-up sound here – on a record that begins with a lean trio approach, the adds in work from Chip Wickham on alto and flute on a few tracks too! There's a vibe to the record that's maybe more introspective than before, and very personal – as if Whiting is really figuring out what she can offer to the world of jazz on her instrument, taking up different territory than legends who've preceded her, like Alice Coltrane or Dorothy Ashby – as she works alongside spacious accompaniment from Aidan Thorne on bass and Jon Reynolds on drums. Percussionist Baldo Verdu joins the group on half the album's tracks too – and titles include "Venus Fly Trap", "Discarded", "Up There", "Where Would We Be", "Too Much", "Temptation", "Abstraction", "Lost", and "Suspended". CD

Jazz harpist Amanda Whiting offers up a nicely changed-up sound here – on a record that begins with a lean trio approach, the adds in work from Chip Wickham on alto and flute on a few tracks too! There's a vibe to the record that's maybe more introspective than before, and very personal – as if Whiting is really figuring out what she can offer to the world of jazz on her instrument, taking up different territory than legends who've preceded her, like Alice Coltrane or Dorothy Ashby – as she works alongside spacious accompaniment from Aidan Thorne on bass and Jon Reynolds on drums. Percussionist Baldo Verdu joins the group on half the album's tracks too – and titles include "Venus Fly Trap", "Discarded", "Up There", "Where Would We Be", "Too Much", "Temptation", "Abstraction", "Lost", and "Suspended". LP, Vinyl record album

An 80s animated feature from Poland, and one that gets some very cool electronic sounds here – a mix of playful numbers and more eerie tracks that work together perfectly – sometimes with more of a song-based approach, other times a lot more open and abstract! There's a bit of vocals on the set, and noted composer Andrzej Korzynski helps out with a few of the songs on the record – but much of the music is spare, and uses these cool 80s keyboards that often have bends and twists and the lines, manipulated like some older 70s moogy sort of instrument! CD features a whopping 30 tracks in all – including bonus material not on the original soundtrack. CD

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

That's Thelonious Monk on the cover, getting an egg yolk removed from his head – and while that image may seem a bit sacrilegious, it's also a great way to portray the sound of this unusual Japanese group! Wonk have a sound that's begun in jazz, but quickly taken to much farther-out territory – maybe part of the funk, cosmic, and soulful currents you'll know in the music of Robert Glasper in recent years – but with even trippier, more abstract moments at times – as acoustic instrumentation comes into play with some hip hop-styled production, but always with a warmly beating heart that really holds the record together! The core group features keyboards, bass, and drums – plus vocals from Kento Nagatsuka on some tracks – and the album also features guest appearances by a few MCs, who further help extend the righteous vibe of the music. Wonderfully fresh, and with a sense of variety that really rewards deeper listening – on titles that include "RdNet", "Savior", "DOF", "Minton", "1914", "Glory", and "Emly". CD

Not just a fantastic album from Ethiopia's legendary Asnakech Worku, but also a great setting for Hailu Mergia too – as he plays organ on the record, and produced the whole thing too! Worku sings and plays the krar – an Ethiopian harp, but one with a very raw sound – almost more metallic than melodic at times, and recorded with a lot of echo too – which seeps out to the vocals, and the eerie keyboard lines provided by Mergia – with only a small bit of drums for accompaniment! The echo really abstracts the vocals at times, and the whole thing has this amazing sound that's unlike anything else we can think of – including lots of 70s classics from the Ethiopian scene. Titles include "Tche Belew", "Awkew Beneber", "Jinyew", "Baynelay Yidal", "Sak Bleh Askegn", "Kand Yerega Deg New", and "Abyotegnaw Jegna". LP, Vinyl record album

The music of George Gershwin, but taken in a very different way than you might expect – yet that's maybe no surprise, given the long legacy of creative piano work we've loved from the great Denny Zeitlin! The tunes are all familiar Gershwin standards, but Denny often uses them as rough inspirations, then transforms them into these beautiful sound paintings of his own – still faithful to the spirit and ideas of the originals, yet nicely abstracted, and filled up with the kind of incredible tones and colors that Zeitlin can give us when he's set free in a solo setting like this. In fact, the format may well be one of the most striking examples of Denny's longstanding talents that we've heard in years – and titles include "I Was Doing All Right", "The Man I Love", "Summertime", "Bess You Is My Woman Now", "I've Got A Crush On You", and "How Long Has This Been Going On". CD

One of the best of the Abstract Funk series – a blend underground tracks that includes some nice entries from the London scene and the Compost crew! Titles include "Full Circle" by Nathan Haines, "Motion" by Claude Young, "Midday Sun" by Ian O'Brien, "Fact Of The Matter" by Anthony Shakir, "Close To Greatness (Deep Joy mix)" by Classen Collective, "Vonga Vongue" by New Sector Movements, "Piano Black (Ian O'Brien rmx)" by Soundtrack From Cowboy Bebop, and "Introspection" by Jazzanova. 12 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

If all airports sounded this great, we'd travel all the time! Copenhagen Airport is the 3rd in Rambling's exploration of the best grooves from the current Scandinavian scene – a host of tracks from Deeplay Records of the past few years, served up in a lively mix of soulful house and more abstract numbers! The grooves here are mostly upbeat, but have plenty of warm jazzy touches – that more organic approach to the groove that's made the Scandinavian scene one watch in recent years, and which often has some nice jazz-influenced moments. Titles include "All We Want" by Zion Lockwood, "Bossa Note (Jask's reprise)" by Dalminjo, "The Most Beautiful Boy In Brazil (Physics 2005 rework)" by Physics, "Let The Sun Shine" by John Dahlback, "Get Out Of That Beat (Rurals' midnight flower mix)" by Physics, "Despacito" by Dalminjo featuring Malena, "7AM Sessions (Thiasoul sunrise mix)" by Physics, and "I Am" by Jeff Bennett's Lounge Experience. CD

One of the comps that rode the mid 90s wave of turntablism, with a nice time table inside the gatefold sleeve. Not as much over the top trickery as you might hear on the Return of The DJ compilations on Bomb, but some essential moments, like Cut Chemist's "Lesson 6" and the X-Men's "A Turntable Experience". Radar's "Radar Frees Tibet" and Beyond There "On Wax" display some nice turntable moments, while a few of the other tracks don't really justify their place in the context of the comp, but are nice to have anyway – like Latyrx's "Say That". Also includes Prince Paul "DJ Prince Paul Vs The World", Ingrid De Lambre & Eddie Def "Poeisies, Scene 1 Le Blues", DJ Swingsett & DJ Wally "Centaurus Space Bass (Cloak & Destroy mix)", Peanut Butter Wolf & The Beat Junkies "They Don't Fall Down", Mumbles "At The Mountains Of Madness" and Q-Burn's Abstract Message "Book Of Changes". CD

Killer modern mixes of tracks from Azymuth's great Woodland Warrior album! Like the other titles in this series, this one takes a core of basic Brazilian jazz tracks – then gives them a modern production twist, with help from remixers like Jazzanova, 4 Hero, Roc Hunter, Yellow Productions, Flytronix, and others! The original album's a killer, and the remixes open it up even more by giving the tracks a cool abstract junglist quality that emphasizes their darker sides. Azymuth's always been a forward-thinking combo, and it's great to hear their work taken to the next level on tracks like "Amazon Adventure", "Ah Voce Nao Sabe", "Chameleon", and "The Quest"! CD

The second and a half entry in the great Trip Do Brasil project – a selection of remixes, rarities, and live tracks pulled from the earlier sessions for the first two albums! As with those gems, the style here is Brazilian remixology – much more abstract than other projects of this nature, with the original Brazilian influences hidden fairly deeply in the wash of house rhythms, heavy beats, warm keyboards, and other modern dancefloor touches. Titles include "Tente Imaginar" by Larry Heard, "Obrigao (Live)" by The Deal, "2 Notes Samba" by Gekko, "Kotu Rete (kybo mix)" by Mental Remedy, "Todos Os Caminhos" by Doctor L with Lenine, "Search 4 Love" by Cam, "Bossanovitch" by Novo Navis, "Brazil.com" by Isolee remixed by Freaks, "Tiu Ba La Quieba" by The Boyz From Brazil remixed by WR, and "Ibis Vermelho (Ibis Frisco mix)" by Rom remixed by Ernest St Laurent. CD

Classic jazz for the 21st century – a treasure trove of tunes from Verve Records, all remixed for the modern dancefloor! The set's the second in Verve's Remixed series – and unlike the first, which focused mostly on vocal numbers, this one throws in some instrumental killers that are among some of our favorite in the catalog! The overall groove is much more expanded from the first session – way past the standard of floating vocals, keys, and beats – into a realm of abstract jazz that really gets at the heart of the project! 14 tracks in all – with "Manteca" by Dizzy Gillespie remixed by Funky Lowlives, "Here's That Rainy Day" by Astrud Gilberto remixed by Koop, "Naima's Love Song" by Betty Carter remixed by DJ Spinna, "Fried Neckbones & Some Home Fries" by Willie Bobo remixed by Dan The Automator, "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader remixed by Fila Brasillia, "Do What You Wanna" by Ramsey Lewis remixed by Mr Scruff, "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair" by Nina Simone remixed by Jaffa, "Mama" by Hugh Masekela remixed by Metro Area, "Whatever Lola Wants" by Sarah Vaughan remixed by Gotan Project, "Blues For Brother George Jackson" by Archie Shepp remixed by Mondo Grosso, and "Brother Where Are You" by Oscar Brown Jr remixed by Matthew Herbert. CD