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"Recorded in Supraphon's Prague studios in Dejvice in March 1970. jointly created by the bands Blue Effect [Modry Effekt] and Stivín's Jazz Q Praha.
The result of this process is forty minutes of music in which the influence of external environments, the immediate ability of each participant, and the predetermination in regard to traditions which shaped their musical development to-date, are expressed by new beauty which contains both logic as well as free, imaginative inspiration within."

Giovanni Di Domenico: hammond organ
Laurens Smet: electric bass
Jakob Warmenbol; drums

A new, Hammond organ-based trio that, at its best, will remind you of why Larry Young rocked the world so hard!

"Family Drug is the premiere recordings of M(h)ysteria, a new trio founded by Giovanni Di Domenico.
While featuring the instrumentation of a classic organ trio, M(h)ysteria charges a rather darker path. Not a swinging session, this is an expression of coping with the chronic...

Well...the story below is very interesting, and the music is definitely echo-plexy guitar stuff that is similar to "Inventions For Electric Guitar", but in fairness to Gottsching, so is A.R. & Machines, which started 3-4 years earlier!
So the claim of Manuel stealing all the ideas from M.A.L. seems a bit....unfair. There was experimentation in the air at that time.
Taking this as a record and without the story involved, it's completely a pretty fine, lost Krautrock / Kosmische type thing!...

"After first meeting in 2007, legendary Italian composer Maurizio Bianchi (M.B.) and Matteo Uggeri (Barnacles) return on a new collaboration, an uncompromising trip through space dubbed Sidereal Decomposition Activity. The album features four long tracks described as "cosmic music," a neurotic trip between analogue noises and pulsing beats, that ends in an armageddon of obsessive sounds."

“One of the key original French underground prog bands born out the 1960's. Maajun were the seminal roots of many other bands, not least their second incarnation as Mahjun.”

“Extract from my French Independent & Underground Obscurities article in Audion 56 (2010): Although on the trendy French pop label Vogue, Maajun were amongst the most underground of French underground bands.
Their debut outing was quite revolutionary: VIVRE LA MORT DU VIEUX MONDE (which means something like "Living the....

"Supremely idealistic pop, cut according to the belief that the form should entice, baffle, and ruffle rather than provide a readily assimilable template ... A delicious cornucopia." -- CMJ

"Sounds like Magical Mystery Tour melted by Salvador Dal

Mac Low's many faceted career covers music, poetry, painting, performance & multimedia. He worked with Fluxus in the 60's & chance operations in the 50's. ''Aphoristic bursts of music separated by silences played with...fleeting beauty.''-The New York ...

“This is a carefully compiled anthology of Ewan MacColl's ballad recordings for the British Topic label. That almost says it all. If you're a fan of traditional Anglo-Scottish ballad singing, MacColl's usually a capella renditions are introspective and very moving. The notes are excellent; the re-mastering is very good. Highly recommended.”

“The classic ballads were conceived on an epic scale and they deal in subjects as large and dramatic as themselves. They are mired in gore or tenderly...

"Here it is, naked to the bone, free jazz in all its glory, loose, intense and furious, not in hanger but with “joie de vivre.” A sax-drums duo like this, in which one of the performers is Gunter “Baby” Sommer, a hallowed name in European improvised music

Four startling studio compositions by an extraordinary young French composer. Born in 1980, Pierre Yves-Mac began as an improviser, played in jazz-rock prog bands, studied classically, accompanied dance classes and has composed electronic music for the...

"Born in France and based in Paris, Pierre-Yves Macé is a composer of great imagination and passion. His first recording, “Faux-Jumeaux,” was released on Tzadik in 2002 and he has since released work on Sub Rosa and Orkhêstra to great acclaim. This...

Born in 1980, Pierre Yves-Mace began as an improviser, played in jazz-rock prog bands, studied classically, accompanied dance classes and has composed electronic music for theater, dance and the martial arts. This is a single composition for string...

''The 1st release outside Japan by one of the most original & underappreciated composers in contemporary music. Maceda has been creating remarkable compositions for large ensembles of the same instruments for 50 years.'' [Tzadik]

"This is the second Tzadik release of music by one of the most original and under-appreciated composers of the twentieth century. With his passing in 2004, several of his most passionate musical collaborators have been continuing Maceda’s legacy and...

"An important discovery of the original 1974 recording of a Maceda masterpiece! Recorded as 20 channels broadcast simultaneously on all of Manila's radio stations to the population gathered in public spaces with hand-held transistor radios, Ugnayan was...

MICHEL DELVILLE guitar, Roland GR09, loops, stylophone, electronics, samples
TONY BIANCO drums, percussion
ANTOINE GUENET keyboards, synth, acoustic piano

It's always nice to see Jimi Hendrix, truly one of the greatest, if also the most tragically short-lived, artists of the rock era, be reconsidered in a way that explores new ground on the basis of what he originally did. Which this does and does really nicely! Highly recommended, especially if you come to it not expecting or wanting...

"Much more than just a meeting of modern progressive jazz heavyweights, MACHINE MASS's Inti witnesses the seamless cohesion of extraordinary creativity fusing with technology. Reformed with renowned modern jazz legend, Dave Liebman, Machine Mass....

Laurent BLONDIAU: trumpet
Manuel HERMIA: saxophones
Michel DELVILLE: guitar, Roland GR09
Antoine GUENET: piano
Damien CAMPION: double bass
Tony BIANCO: drums

“MACHINE MASS started out in 2011 as an idiosyncratic MoonJune power duo made of longtime collaborators American drummer Tony BIANCO (Elton Dean, Paul Dunmall, Evan Parker) and Belgian guitarist Michel DELVILLE (The Wrong Object, Vegir). Hailed as a « feisty and rebel rousing exhibition that contains a surfeit of

"Originally born as a side-project of douBt, this new trio led by Tony Bianco (on drums and loops) and Michel Delville (on guitar, bouzouki and live effects) also includes emerging Belgian talent Jordi Grognard on saxophones, bass clarinet and flute...

Great album of recordings from the classic Palladium era of Latin music in America [“In 1948, the Palladium Ballroom gained in stature because of the Big Three acts: Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez, and Machito. The Big Three grew in popularity on the strength of their bookings at the Palladium. These bands were turning out mambo hit after mambo hit...”-Wikipedia]

“Baritone vocalist, percussionist, bandleader Machito and his brother-in-law, the arranger Mario Bauzá were first to create a musical....

This is the 3rd album by Juarez Maciel & Grupo Muda. The instrumentation varies, but basically there is Juarez's piano as well as clarinet, cello, violin, double bass, flutes at his disposal. There's jazz, but mostly there's a lot of other influences...

''Reprint of the first, historical, lp of this band from Marche (center Italy), a milestone in the roots music in Italy in the early 80s. Based on research of traditional songs of their area, the recording is particularly significant for the vocal arra...

Keyboardist Duncan Mackay made two great keyboard-driven solo progressive rock albums in the mid 70s, Chimera and Score.
After a very long time off the circuit (or at least off of my circuit), he returns firmly in the style of 'heavy, keyboard-driven progressive' format, with just his keyboards and drummer Georg Voros.
A very strong new album from someone that I never thought we'd hear from again! Recommended!

Once a member of Doctor Nerve, Maclean is a guitarist whose quartet specializes in austere neo-classical music of great subtlety. Time signatures abound, but more important are the constantly shifting building blocks of interlocking rhythms; at times e...

"Steve MacLean began playing drums and guitar at the age of seven and composing at twelve. Completing high school early, he met Roswell Rudd and began playing concerts with him in New York. He moved to the city and took a job in a busy recording studio...

"A remarkable set of pieces for mediated acoustic piano that operates in the shadowy territory between what is playable and what is programmable; between narrative simplicity and performative complexity; between hopeful intentionality and flawless...

"Steve MacLean has performed with guitars in every conceivable format, from tightly-knit compositions in bands and ensembles to extreme guitar improvisations with heavy processing and computer manipulation. Frog Bug Guitar Computer represents a...

"Careful compositions converse with focused improvisations under the precise direction of Steve MacLean who, on this CD, after various excursions that took him through experimental works for piano, interactive insect/guitar compositions and pure...

"In this episode, a number of short recordings of household objects and curious instruments become the core thematic material for a range of exquisitely conceived and realised pieces in which the recordings are shaped, stretched, tuned, combined and otherwise manipulated before being folded into a variety of musical structures with additional elements or parts added. Much use is made of rhythms derived from gravity - that is, dropping and bouncing - embedded into microtonal, poly-rhythmic and deeply...

"This CD of songs, grittily arranged and produced is noticeably more straight-ahead than ReR’s usual releases though it sits comfortably within the broad range of Steve’s tirelessly experimental output. This is a project with a long history: Steve...

Dave Ballou - trumpet
Herb Robertson - trumpet
Drew Gress - bass
Tom Rainey - drums

“To those familiar with the NYC downtown music scene of the 80s and 90s, trumpeters Herb Robertson and Dave Ballou need no introduction. Having collaborated with the likes of Tim Berne, John Zorn, Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Dewey Redman, and countless others, both were at the center of what was one of the most formative eras for experimental and improvised music to date.
In performance.

“After “Sisyphus” (2012) and “Macroscream” (2016), the band consolidates its style by giving birth to the third album recorded and mixed in Rome between May and September 2023.
The lineup has undergone numerous changes which have contributed to giving a more direct and less symphonic sound compared to previous works.
The mini-suites that characterized the first 2 albums give way to more synthetic songs, while retaining those distinctive elements in which Macroscream have always immersed their...

This is the second album by this sextet (plus many guests) from Rome. Their roots are clearly in classic, progressive rock with folky overtones (think Jethro Tull, early PFM, Gentle Giant, Gryphon), but they mix up a lot of influences and styles here.

"The band's self-produced debut album is a mature musical work that combines a strong Italian folk sensibility, courtesy of Saracino's violin arrangements, with a devotion to 1970s symphonic prog. [This] has the potential to establish MACROSCREAM...

"The Sound of Places is Earth Talk’s second record; a CD where they reveal the inspiration induced by the magic of various places they have visited through the years. They obviously absorbed the energy that emanated from those planetary terrains, as...

Note - this is an early German album that has some nice Krautrockian parts, but despite the label's hype that follows, there is also some real pop stuff going on here, so caveat! "First Reissue of amazing German Band who released one totally underrated...

Ken Vandermark (reeds); Christof Kurzmann (electronics); Devin Hoff (bass); Tim Daisy (drums).

"The evolution of Ken Vandermark continues with his new quartet Made To Break, an electric/acoustic ensemble that bridges his musical strengths of...

Ken Vandermark – reeds
Christof Kurzmann - pooll/electronics
Jasper Stadhouders - electric bass
Tim Daisy - drums

“This is for sure no fake news! F4 Fake is the exciting new album by Made To Break, the gripping quartet of Ken Vandermark, mixing jazz, funky patterns, and electronics in groovy improvisations -- interrupted by abstract insertions. Recorded by Daniel Schatz, November 29 2017 at Primitive Studios, Vienna.“

Christof Kurzmann, electronics / Devin Hoff, bass / Ken Vandermark, reeds / Tim Daisy, drums.

"The released of “Provoke” is the result of a three day series of concerts, by a Ken Vandermark’s new project, during the commemoration, in Lisbon...

Madlove is a one-shot band led by Trevor Dunn. As it sez here, "Trevor Dunn, co-founder, composer and bass player for a multitude of bands including Mr. Bungle and Fantômas, partner to modern day madmen John Zorn and Mike Patton is set to release his...

This dynamic NY guitar/bass/drums trio covers a range from Jim Hall ballads to Blood Ulmer funk harmolodics. Changing time signatures and arrangements that stop on a dime alternate with gorgeous renditions of classic Jewish melodies, making this an ext...

The significance of the name Zion80 is how it relates to Fela Kuti's Africa70 and Egypt80 bands! This is kind of an amazing mash up of Radical Jewish Culture (the music of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach) performed in the style of Afrobeat's greatest exponent...

Madovsky is Franck Chionna on bass, samples and percussion with drums & percussion by Emmanuel Charmot. Franck is a Frenchman now living in Montreal and I was turned onto his work by Richard Pinhas, who heard his material when Richard was appearing in ...

New reissue of this 1973 US progressive rock rarity. It was previously issued on CD a long time ago , but that issue is long out of print, and this marks the first time in well over a decade that this music is available!

"An overlookied US band..

After a very, very long time quiet, ProgQuebec have returned for one last hurrah with this excellent archival release, which was issued in a limited quantity.
Like many of the other bands during Quebec’s golden age of progressive rock, there is a lot of influence from the major UK names and also a lot of influence from Gentle Giant (who, admittedly, were more popular in Quebec than they were in the USA).
This is a fine, totally professionally recorded progressive rock release from 1976, that...

I am not really sure how many of you this will appeal to, but I think that this is a marvelous record. Consisting of originals, but very obviously based on folk forms and melodies, the lineup is: Christian Maes-accordion, Thierry Bruneau-vielle a roue ...

“This release features almost 3 1/2 hours of video and audio from two special shows at the prestigious South Wales venue. The limited edition release will come with 2 DVDs and 2 full audio CDs presenting music from both concerts.”

“Our annual Acapela show has now become a much anticipated event by our fans and also by ourselves. The venue is a stunning converted Welsh Chapel which provides a unique atmosphere and as there is an amazing Yamaha grand piano on site it would be a crime not to use it...

“Remixed and strictly limited edition of 500. Featuring special guest Pete Jones (Tiger Moth Tales/Camel)”

“During the preparation for the Magenta 20th Anniversary shows, we decided to include a large selection from the underperformed HOME album. Having to recreate the tracks, meant having to re-visit the multi-tracks which were in a mess.
Not being able to resist a ‘tinker’ with the tracks, I ended up re-working the multitrack. Solving problems in the arrangements, adding fresh dynamics and.

"Magenta follow up 2017's much-praised 'We Are Legend' with a brand new studio album 'Masters of Illusion'. The 60 minute album consists of six songs, including the 17 minute title track.
The album’s theme is based around the lives of six famous horror actors of the 1950s and 1960s.
Lyricist Steve Reed: 'My brother and I are both huge fans of the classic Hammer and Universal horror films. I remember as a kid watching the horror double bills on Saturday nights on BBC2 with great fondness. We...

‘Reaching For The Moon’ is available in a 4 disc set (2DVDs/2CDs) and was filmed at the Arlington Arts Centre, in Newbury, England on May 21st 2022. It features an enhanced Magenta line-up, including percussionist, flautist and oboist, as well as a guest appearing by Andy Foster (Kite Parade) on vocals and saxophone.
The first half of the concert features many of Magenta’s shorter and more accessible songs, including seldom played old favourites like ‘Broken’ and ‘Glitterball’, and newer ones like...

“Music is magic in the way it brings people together. It introduces strangers who then go on to become friends and the impact music can have on people's lives is far-reaching.
This EP is dedicated to the memory of one of our friends 'Andy Goodall' who sadly passed away in 2020.
Andy was a gentle giant, a passionate music lover and supporter of live music.
His generosity has allowed Magenta to carry on making music.
We wondered how best to thank Andy and honour his memory and decided...