News: Zanov to begin reissuing back catalog!

More good news coming at the end of the year (and thanks to my readers for the heads up here). According to Zanov's Facebook page, he will begin a reissue campaign starting with his third album from 1983 called "In Course of Time". Zanov posts: "As I have many requests to release my vynils albums on CDs, I have started a project to remaster and release a limited edition of "In Course of Time", first quarter of 2015. If you are interested, please like this message. It will help me to decide how many I should manufacture.". So there you go. I've somewhat shunned Facebook over the years, so I do ask those of you who have an account, to run over there and "Like it". It's for a good cause! :-)

Of course, all of this activity is due to the return to the studio for Zanov. Today we have a dual posting with Under the Radar, to celebrate his first new album in 31 years!

News: Avalanche coming out on CD from Guerssen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow.

It's Christmas Eve. It was already a festive evening, and I was off to bed... when I saw a little blurb come across the computer. NO WAY! Years and years and years of hoping this one would come out, but the band had always resisted. And now, it is official. I even bought an original LP at top market prices presuming it never would get a reissue. I suppose at this point, I probably never will sell that LP, but I can't wait to get this one on CD (and for vinyl heads, it is also getting pressed on wax).

Guerssen says: "Absolute masterpiece when talking about progressive / psychedelic folk-rock from Europe. Dutch band Avalanche was formed in the early 70s and recorded their only album in 1979. “Perseverance kills our game” was released as a private edition of 500 copies, which were only distributed among friends and relatives. Despite being a home-made project (the album was recorded in just one day!) the result was stunning. Totally early 70s sounding electric folk-rock with flute, piano, bass, drums, and killer fuzz guitar. Mostly instrumental with a few vocals in English. It alternates delicate acoustic passages with devastating fuzz leads, sounding like Fairport Convention jamming with early Ash Ra Tempel. The album closes with an extended 11 minute track on which guitar player Daan Slaman starts playing leads like a madman, creating layers and layers of liquid acid-fuzz guitar. It has to be heard to be believed! First ever LP / CD reissue, done in cooperation with the original band members. Insert / booklet with rare photos and liner notes by Richard Allen. Carefully remastered from original vinyl (the masters were destroyed long ago) using state-of-the-art equipment, resulting in stunning sound quality." 

This was one of our Priority 1's... Perhaps the best Christmas present for many of us, eh? :-)

News: Materia Gris reissued on CD from Fonocal

Materia Gris - Ohperra Vida de Beto. 1972 Harvest (Argentina)

This one fell though the cracks mainly because I didn't realize it wasn't on CD already! I had the reissue LP (legit?) for many years and decided to move it out a few years back. And hadn't really thought about the album again. But now we for certain have a legit CD from the respected Fonocal label of Argentina, and they've added a few bonus tracks as well. It's a decent psych influenced / early progressive album. Certainly an album I would buy again if the right opportunity comes along.

News: Garden of Delights to reissue Panko album soon!

Whew! A bit of relief here. It seemed Germany's best reissue label had disappeared into the ether without notice. This is the first we've heard from them since 2013. We had first announced that the Panko album had been added to their "Coming Soon" list back in Sept of 2012. So this is welcome news - and Panko is something I'm most interested in hearing what they will do with it. I just have a cassette dub (like everyone else I presume), and sonically it's pretty rough. Hopefully we'll see an improvement like we did with the Cosmic Circus tape. The music is outstanding, as would be expected from 1971 Germany. See below for label's description.

In addition to the Panko announcement, they are wrapping up their commitment to reissue Virus' "Thoughts" on CD as well. This will include the two bonus tracks that were also on the Long Hair LP reissue from last year. They're very short, so not worth getting for that alone, but I wouldn't mind upgrading my old Bernhard Mikulski CD from 23 years ago, and checking out their history section (which was also a nice addition to the LH LP).

GoD is also continuing to reissue their back catalog on LP, and they have a few titles selected. One curious one is the first Eela Craig, which they did in conjunction with Amber Soundroom about 10 years ago. I bought that one immediately, and it looked like a great investment, but it appears it may lose its value now with the new reissue (except for those that collect Amber Soundroom reissues I guess....). Oh well, I'm not selling mine in any case.

Still no word on the Missus Beastly "Space Guerillas" and Sunbirds "Zagara" reissues that were imminent two years ago. Hopefully they're still on the docket. I would love to get CDs of both of those.

Here's GoD's description of the Panko album: "Panko from West Berlin (not to be confused with the much later East-German band Pankow) musically reminds of Xhol Caravan or the early Embryo. The band mostly played long jazzy instrumental pieces, dominated by flute and alto saxophone, at times interrupted by mainly English vocals and some follies. The band existed from the late sixties 'til the end of 1972. During its active career the group didn't release any material, although they definitely had much potential. In 1983 their drummer (at last) released the cassette 'Weil Es So Schön Perlt'. This tape featured live recordings of good sound quality, dating from June 1971. Now here's a great CD-edition of that tape, enriched with two bonus tracks."

News: Guerssen to reissue MacArthur's debut album!

Really good news here. We heard from Ben MacArthur recently, via the comment section on this very blog, and he informs us that Guerssen will be reissuing their debut on both CD and LP in the coming months! For years it was presumed the album was from 1973, but about 3 years ago, we were informed it was from 1979. I'll be a first day buyer!

News: Audio Archives releases archival Wooden Lion album

Typical. Nothing interesting for weeks, and in comes at least two interesting releases on the same day (still researching here). I know nothing about this one beyond the hype sheet provided by the label. Sounds good on paper anyway! Label screams:

"One of the rarest previously unreleased heavy psych album from the early '70s UK underground by the original five-piece band. Painstakingly re-mastered from the only surviving acetate, you get long, tripped-out tracks with an early Hawkwind feel, toughened by dark vocals that combine to make this a cosmic-doom classic. Highlights include the atmospheric 'Ice Maiden', the spaced-out 'She Paints Strange Pictures' and their notorious tour de force, the lengthy three-part 'McAlistairess Phantoms'.

Plenty of rare band shots, items of memorabilia and detailed sleeve notes included in this long lost forgotten classic."

News: Pseudonym reissues 1973 Dutch folk pop psych album Mayfly

On the fringes of what the CDRWL typically covers, but I thought many of you would be interested in this announcement. Nice to see Pseudonym pressing on, and we can only hope they'll eventually tackle some of the more obscure Dutch rarities that remain without a CD reissue.

Label says: "Like the insect that gave them their name, the Dutch group Mayfly existed for just a short while before disappearing. In their brief lifespan, though, they recorded one truly magical and timeless album, along with a handful of singles, all beautifully crafted and imbued with beguiling atmospheres and melodies. Formed in the late 60s in the northern coastal town of Bergen, Mayfly recorded their self-titled album for Ariola in 1973, working with Wally Taxs producer Martin Duiser. The album now sees its first ever CD reissue, dynamically remastered from the original master tapes. The original cover artwork has been expanded into a deluxe digipak and booklet featuring rare photos and liners notes by Mike Stax with input from the original band members. The album is an enticing blend of folk-rock and psychedelic pop with shades of the Idle Race, the Kinks, Fairport Convention and the Beatles. This reissue features nine bonus tracks, two demos, the non-LP singles Orphan Girl, Skew-eyed Jimmy, Quite A Surprise & Signed By The Time plus two alternate 45 versions of the groups first single, that jaunty, Ray Davies-inspired Blue Sofa. Folk-rock, Psychedelic Pop. Exclusively restored dynamic 24 bit remastering from the original master tapes. Deluxe digipak gatefold sleeve. 16 page booklet including rare archival photos & memorabilia. Rare archival photos included. Liner Notes by Mike Stax / Ugly Things."

News: Nadavati's sole album to be reissued on Soleil Zeuhl soon!

Well this one certainly caught me off guard. We learned from Wayside's mailer today that Nadavati's sole album "Le vent de l'esprit souffle où il veut" will be reissued on CD soon. Certainly not typical fare for the Zeuhl biased label - but an album I'm very grateful they are reissuing and I will be a first day buyer! Our prior feature here.

News: Rudiger Lorenz's "Invisible Voices" reissued on Anthology

Thanks to a note (and photo) from regular contributor Eric, we learned that synthesist Rudiger Lorenz's debut LP from 1983 (who had one cassette prior) "Invisible Voices" has been reissued on CD from the Anthology Recordings label, which is the first time we've come upon the imprint. I admit to being woefully ignorant regarding Lorenz's work, but it's clearly within scope of the CDRWL. I couldn't make heads or tales out of the label's description, but I did find this review online that is more telling: "As rosy-fingered dawn cups Holbeck in its hands and thumbs open the new day's crack, I'm starting another mammoth review-a-thon with the gorgeous new age kosmische sounds of this meditative-yet-bustling reissue from full-time pharmacist/part-time synth wizard Rudiger Lorenz, which originally came out in 1983 (as did I).

It's a timely reissue, since so many of the current crop of synth explorers are so in thrall to the late '70s/early '80s sound. I've not encountered Lorenz's music before today but it's very impressive - lushly constructed synth meditations full of graceful drones and robotic pulses and softly unfolding melodies that to my ears falls somewhere between contemporaries JD Emmanuel and Tangerine Dream, but more melodically restless than either - in fact the latter's soundtrack work on films like 'Near Dark' often comes to mind because the nine pieces contained here are fairly succinct despite the "new age" nature of the softly trickling synth tones.

I get the feeling that the individual tracks are supposed to evoke the atmospheres of certain places. 'Out of the Past' has some staticky whooshes and a striding melody like Vangelis's beach run music from 'Chariots of Fire', 'New Atlantis' has strange dramatic space-swells, stumbling drum machine and a robotically processed female-voiced monologue. Sometimes the time and place he's trying to evoke is hinted at by the titles, such as the blissful 'Summer with Sonja' or the slightly Kraftwerk-esque 'Flight Over Greenland'. All in all it's a very enjoyable album, full of varied moods, easygoing melodies and vintage synths."

News: Cybotron's debut to be reissued on Dual Planet

The Cybotron camp is quite active lately, and it was only a matter of time that the debut album would see the light of day. Thanks to a note from CDRWL friend Achim, we learned that Dual Planet intends on reissuing Cybotron's Clear Light of Jupiter debut on both CD and LP in November. Very good news!

The label also tells us to look for "Colossus" next year. The latter had already received a legit CD on the INAK (In-Akustik) label close to 25 years ago (I have it myself) - but the CD is very hard to find these days. However, as I research this title, it turns out to be an incomplete reissue, missing close to 10 full minutes off the original, though it does include a rare single. I never knew that until now! (And I have the original LP too - I should have known better). So the Dual Planet version will most assuredly be the de facto one to own, and I'll be certain to upgrade.

Dual Planet also promises to issue other unreleased material. So plenty of good news coming out of Australia.

Here's the label's description of Cybotron: "Part Man Part Machine, Cybotron was the synthesis of progressive rock and electronic music experimentation. Conceived by pioneers of the Australian electronic underground, Steve Maxwell Von Braund and keyboardist Geoff Green, together they produced a series of mind-altering cosmic albums throughout the 1970s which set the tone for the Minimal wave and electronic post punk scene of early 1980s Melbourne. Part Tangerine Dream, part Ash Ra Tempel, Cybotron channelled the spirit of Krautrock to create their own unique brand of throbbing Komische electronica rivalling the futuristic vision of their German counterparts. Dual Planet present the long awaited reissue of this landmark Australian recording. Issued as an exact replica of the rare 1976 Clear Light Of Jupiter LP, remastered from the original master tapes and includes new liner notes."

News: Probe 10 reissue on Lion imminent!

We've announced this prior, but given that it's coming out about 8 months later than expected, it's worth restating. Personally, this is near the top of my CD want list, so I'm quite excited about it. I did manage to pick up the original LP in the last year thanks to Midwest Mike. And the CD is going to be housed in a mini-LP jacket with a color booklet!

Here's a couple of reviews for the album: "This masterpiece crawled up my spine like a kundalini snake and proceeded to take the top of my head off. Probe 10 are unquestionably linked to a very specifically American form of proto-prog-into-jazz-rock synthesis of the precise sort Elektra Records used to specialize in, from Tim Buckley's Starsailor to David Stoughton's Transformer. Toss in trumpet fanfare laden acid psych straight out of the C.A. Quintet songbook, the riotously melodic and dense brassy arrangements of McLuhan... and...well...hold on to your hookahs!" -Mutant Sounds 

"Unique jazz-rock album with major space-rock vibes. You have to love the way the bass counters the effects-laden guitar solos and heavy fuzz. Considering how many loner folk and hard rock private press albums came from the same time period, discovering something this ambitious and unusual is a real kick. Most of the time, it sounds like the world's best exploito-jazz record, Herb Alpert filtered through Pink Floyd and Quiet Sun." -Acid Archives

For my own deranged review, see my UMR entry.

News: Havenstreet's very rare album "The End of the Line" to be reissued on Sommor

News coming out of Spain is that Sommor Records will be reissuing the very obscure 1977 album from Havenstreet. This was one of those albums, that after first hearing about it, I turned every stone over looking for a copy. Finally I got a chance to hear it in 2005 at Meister Dirk's pad. What a disappointment. Of course I'd been told it was a Canterbury like record, so my expectations were not set properly. It's not Canterbury at all (except maybe the vocals which vaguely recall Richard Sinclair). But it is a folk rock album - and that genre has many fans. So I think this title will be well received by those who love obscure folk rock. I've heard many people praise this record, beyond collectors looking to profit. I had this one only in the main list prior.

This double CD will feature two unknown cassette releases as well as rehearsals for the album proper and a lost 4th album from 1979. These collectively will be known by the title "Perspectives".

This is the CDRWL's first encounter with the Sommor label, but it appears they are in the Guerssen circle. All looks above board to me. Here's the label's description:

"The genesis of Havenstreet goes back to 1969, when Phil Ridgway and Jeff Vinter played in The Gas, an experimental psychedelic band heavily influenced by Barrett-era Pink Floyd. The two friends started to write songs their own songs, ending up as a folk duo. With the offer to record some of their material at a friend’s studio, they recruited more musical friends…so Havenstreet was born. The influences had expanded now to bands and artists such as Peter Hammill, Strawbs, Traffic, Procol Harum, Stackridge, Keith Tippett, Bert Jansch…In the early-mid 70s they recorded a couple of albums which circulated as private cassettes among friends and relatives. In 1977, Havenstreet released “The End Of The Line”, a self-released album in a private edition of 250 copies. It was collection of very English songs with evocative, literate lyrics and a stunning progressive folk-rock sound. It featured one of the earliest known tributes to Syd Barrett on the song “When the madcap meets the world”. 

This expanded double set reissue of Havenstreet’s sought after album includes: 

*The original “The End of the Line” album from 1977. 

*A new album called “Perspectives” which presents the best tracks from the privately pressed cassettes The Autumn Wind (1974) and Transition (1976) plus rehearsal recordings for The End of the Line (1975/1976) and previously unreleased recordings for the group’s projected fourth album (1979), which was never completed. These amazing tracks range from electric acid-folk to Barrett-esque psych-pop, pastoral folk and Caravan styled prog-rock. 

*16-page LP-sized booklet with photos and detailed liner notes. Remastered from the original master tapes. 

“Attractive songs combine with relaxed, amateurish male vocals and intricate lyrics to form a coherent work with a clear personality. Stylistically it’s reminiscent of melodic, rural-prog-rock like Caravan or Hatfield & The North, with occasional flute and sax ornaments. A few tunes with full guitar-rock setting betray a possible Richard Thompson influence”- Patrick Lundborg (Galactic Ramble) 

“…Combining the back-to-basics acoustic feel of the nu-folk generation with a swirly, psychedelic vibe, ”The End of the Line” could actually be an album that was made in 2014. But this album was privately released in 1977. Now finally remastered and brought into the present, the retrospective feeling is amplified and should appeal greatly to fans of 70s folk and progressive music. This reissue is a must have even for the lucky few who own an original copy of the album as it comes with a bonus disc, ”Perspectives”, that compiles non-LP tracks from 1974-79. The quality of the extra material shines through…” – Michael Bjorn (Strange Days Magazine) 

Tracklist: THE END OF THE LINE: German Castles - When The Madcap Meets the World - Old Ways and Schooldays - Music in the Night - Suspended Animation - The H.S.B Song - Yesterday Was Summer – Rain - The Castle - Out of the Fireglow - The Keeper of the Tower - The Photograph - After Time 

PERSPECTIVES: Aftermath - Falling Leaves In Autumn - Fat Old Engine - Family Laughter - Just An Illusion – Klok – Damascus – Grasshopper - Your Not Being There - The Ballroom Of Despair – Aftersong - Village Vespers"

News: Fireballet reissues to obtain release in the US on Inner Knot

Much more information has surfaced regarding the reissues of Fireballet since we last reported on it. Thanks to a note from TheH this morning, and a further discussion with Laser Ken, we have learned that the Fireballet albums will be coming out in the US in September on the King Crimson specialist label Inner Knot. And, as it turns out, band member Jim Cuomo's wife runs Inner Knot, so now it's all making sense. As far as production goes, it was remastered by Larry Fast, so it should sound fantastic.

The official blurb on Facebook says: "We here at Inner Knot are proud & excited to announce the long awaited release dates for Fireballet's "Night On Bald Mountain"… newly remastered by Larry Fast… August 25th for Japan & Sept 16th in the USA… stay tuned for info on when to pre-order!"

We also have learned that the band was unsatisfied with the "Two, Too" cover (if I said that was understandable, it would be a gross understatement I think), and so expect new artwork for that as well.

News: Both Storm (Spain) albums reissued by Arabiand

Achim also let us know that both Storm albums have been reissued in a double CD set known as "Lost in Time" on the Arabiand Rock label. I was following the label intently for awhile, but it seemed they had stopped activity. So it's nice to see they are still in the game. This CD has been co-released by Musea as well.

The first Storm album was reissued by Lost Vinyl nearly 20 years ago, but the second never did get reissued. I've had "El Dia de la Tormenta" in the main list for some time thanks to Midwest Mike's CD-R contribution a few years back. I held it back from its own post since it's a bit out of range for this list (more of a straight forward hard rock album), though it's more progressive than the debut actually.

News: Atmospheres / Clive Stevens now on CD

I had a few folks mention this one to me - including Gnosis Mike and Achim - while I was on vacation these past two weeks. I flat out just wasn't aware of this title, though it's obviously more well known amongst fusion fans, and as you can see by the label above, it's loaded with marquee talent.

The label is ESC who specializes in fusion. Their advert for the album goes on to say: "Saxman / keyboard player Clive Stevens from Bristol, England, was among the earliest to explore the nexus of jazzrock and electric jazz in his two 1974 albums. And both releases, “Atmospheres” and “Voyage to Uranus” have stood the test of time. “Atmospheres” was finished in one day with no rehearsals in New York City. This was a super session of the highest level with bassist Rick Laird and drummer Billy Cobham's only recording together outside John Mclaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra.

The world class guitarists Steve Khan and John Abercrombie feeding off of each others' incredible talent, Ralph Towner on electric piano/ring modulator in awesome form and Harry Wilkinson added later on percussion.

The raw power of the session was electric, beyond belief. So don't expect to hear something mellow, this is dark, sometimes scary music for those late nights. Still compelling after all these year, something like a blast from the past.

“Atmospheres” is being re-released now after 40 years, first time on CD. Some of the compositions came from Clive’s original band in London called "CAPARIUS"."

News: Fireballet's two albums to be reissued on CD finally! (but there's a but... of course there is)

Thanks to a comment from TheH, we've learned that these two star crossed albums will finally have ended years of absence on the (legal) CD market! Good news right?

Well maybe.

They are being done by Belle Antique of Japan. So there is good news in that these are legit. And they will be housed in the best possible album cover (their mini-LP jackets are superbly made). There is more possible good news that they may sound awesome. Or... they may not. Belle Antique's record is mixed on this front when they are the first to market, and that's because they don't do their own mastering - or at least they don't typically do their own mastering. Meaning they are reliant on the source provided them. Sometimes great (Old Man & The Sea, Speed Limit), sometimes not (Aquarelle, Eloiteron). I wasn't able to find any corroborating evidence on this reissue to research, but I know the source of the news to be valid. I'll buy it anyway and find out - and report back to the UMR site.

They should be available next month. The first album will feature 3 bonus tracks and "Two, Too", will feature... well duh... 2.

News: Musea is back in the reissue business! Program starts with two Robert Wood albums

I'm not sure I could have better news than this! Francis Grosse has rejoined the Musea team, and they have big plans for many reissues to come. As we have stated many times in the past, no label has ever surpassed Musea in terms of the sheer amount of quality reissues. And they pioneered the right way to do reissues, by obtaining legal rights, working directly with the artists and writing historical essays, printing unique photos, and adding relevant bonus tracks.

Without Grosse, the label has focused on their contemporary roster, and as such have been pretty silent with reissues for the last 7 years or so. There's been a couple of false starts in the past, and I have maintained sporadic contact with Francis throughout. But this time it appears we have tangible evidence that reissues will be released soon!

I have received a sneak preview into what the future holds, and I have to say it is very (VERY) impressive. Not only for straight reissues (many of which are in CDRWL awaiting patiently), but also archival material. Up soon in fact will be an archival second album from one of my all-time favorite French bands. That alone gives me a new reason to live. I can only hope that everything I saw on the list gets released.

The program kicks off with Robert Wood's two Polydor albums from 1976/77. I actually haven't heard these myself, but appears they have a great reputation amongst fans with similar tastes to mine. The gimmick here is that Wood plays electric vibraphone in a traditional instrumental rock setting. Sounds good to me. As a bonus to each, there will be tracks spread across from an unreleased 3rd Polydor album.

News: Merlin's Nose reissues rare album by Gulaab

This one caught my eye yesterday morning right before one of those classic 18 hour work days complete with social events. Trying to catch up here, and wanted to get this news out as soon as possible. I'm not familiar with this title, and apparently it was released only on cassette. The description below, though, looks to be highly appealing to me. I also read one review on RYM that likened the album to Algarnas Tradgard. Since it appears to be a solo album, I'll keep my expectations in check - but it does look intriguing all the same.

The label is Merlin's Nose, which I haven't run into prior. "Ultra-rare lost psychedelic Kraut-Folk from 1979. First time on CD and LP! Taken from the original mastertapes! Gulaab means “rose” in Nepalese language. Gulaab is a German virtuoso on the acoustic guitar who has served three years as an after dinner musician in a luxury restaurant in Nepal to play for an amazing number of well known personalities of the 20th century during the early 70s. A strongly influential experience that shaped his musical expression big time but also let him become an open minded spirit. “Ritt durch den Hades” is the result of his experimentation with sounds, atmospheres and a multitude of styles in traditional music from Latin to Eastern Asian elements. It was first released in 1979, vanishing into obscurity soon after , waiting to be rediscovered by a more open minded generation of music lovers now. Traditionalists be forewarned : This mystic grail of 70s “kraut folk” stands far out from the average folk and singer / songwriter stuff combining guitar harmonies of the highest order with a cosmic drone that backs up the hypnotizing picking and trippy swirls of sounds. This album is in fact more like a musical journey than just a piece of music taking you from secret sacrificial altars in the Andes to the ceremonial places of the ancient Himalayan population with a short stopover for a little “joint venture” in the musical space centers of highly flown out German originators like ASH RA TEMPEL / Manuel Göttsching, POPUL VUH / Florian Fricke, WITTHÜSSER & WESTRUPP, BRÖSELMASCHINE, DOM or DEUTER. Now take a ride through Hades with GULAAB!"

News: Leong Lau and Abbhama now out on CD!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that, after a couple of delays, the Leong Lau CD is now out! As is the Abbhama, that was recently announced. Both are from Strawberry Rain. Be on the lookout for some notes over at Unencumbered Music Reviews in the next few weeks!

News: Braen's Machine and "The Feed-Back" to be reissued on Schema!

Thanks to a tip from Pierre of France, we learned that Schema will be reissuing these two film library classics. The Braen's Machine, in particular, flows more like a  regular album and is one of our Priority 2's! The Feed-Back was a Priority 3! Schema is a well known Italian label from the Ishtar group out of Milan. This is our first encounter with the label, and we get two CDRWL requests at once - wow!

Description of Braen's Machine as found on the SoundOhm page: "Milestone Reissue! CD Edition, deluxe digipack and Obi. Initially pressed in very few copies for TV production use only on Umiliani's LIUTO label. A monster rare album with Music by Alessandro Alessandroni and Oronzo De Filippi Produced by Piero Umiliani at the now legendary Sound Work Shop studio in Rome, January 1971. During the '70s, work days at Umiliani's Sound Workshop Studios were hectic; thousands of sessions were held in order to keep up with a very busy Italian movie industry: Hundreds of soundtracks alongside with music library were recorded and released on vinyl in very limited quantities for TV and film production use only. Those LPs are now proper collectors' items, extremely hard to find. Filled with hypnotic bass lines, heavy drums and screaming fuzz guitars "Underground", the first LP of the fictitious group known as Braen's Machine, is one of the rarest and the most expensive of them all, always "reaching" sky high prices throughout the second hand vinyl market. A fast-beat jam with hammond scales and a twin lead guitar theme ("Flying") opens the A Side soon followed by "Imphormal", a classicfunk-beat-meetsfender-rhodes-and-psychedelic-guitar number. The music then switch to "thriller territories" with "Murder" which is based on prepared piano swells and a deeply hypnotic walking bass, reminiscent of the best Morricone's soundtracks for Dario Argento's movies. Two highly percussive songs complete the A Side: "Gap" is an improvised song with guitar and keyboards dwelling over an infectious drum rhythm while a marching snare and a vibraslap effect are the special features on "Militar Police". The mood relaxes slightly on the opening of the B Side with a lazy jazz groove on "New Experience" but the rock influences are soon brought back on the following track "Fall Out". "Obstinacy" is all about keyboards with syncopated rhodes themes and distorted hammond sustained notes whilst the fuzz guitar is back again screaming through the left channel on the last song of the album, "Description". We could happly say that that was the golden age of the Italian music library. But who's behind the name "Braen's Machine"? On the original cover the songs are credited to the composers Braen and Gisteri. Braen was a pseudonym often used by Alessandro Alessandroni, an extremely skilled and versatile musician, and one of Umiliani's closest collaborators. He could write, conduct and arrange, he could sing (ever heard "Mah Na Mah Na"?), he could whistle (ever heard Morricone's "For a fistful of dollars"?) and he could play almost anything: guitar, bass tuba, accordion, sitar and the list grows..... His first album "Alessandro Alessandroni e il suo complesso" (Sermi, 1969), had transformed the Italian library music from orchestral sound beds into the psychedelia we all love; the extremely fuzzy guitars are very "present" on "Underground" too. For a long time Gisteri's real identity was rather mysterious; often wrongly attributed to Umiliani. Gisteri was the pseudonym of Oronzo De Filippi, art name of Rino De Filippi, music supervisor to the Italian public broadcast company (RAI) between the '60s and the '70s. De Filippi composed other notable pieces such as "Riflessi" (Edipan, 1975) and "Nel mondo del lavoro" (Sermi, 1972). De Filippi passed away few years ago but we were able to contact Alessandroni to talk about this LP. Remembering "Underground" recording session as one of the thousands he took part of, Alessandroni told us that this record was produced very quickly, in two days maximum. This was made possible by a team of wonderfully capable session musicians and the creative genius behind the mixing desk; this incredible combination helped to focus on the mood of each track even more. Unfortunately there are no liner notes but Alessandroni's memories and speculations, based on other music tracked in the same period at Soundworkshop by resident engineer Claudio Batussi, led us to identify this as the most probable lineup: Munari on drums, Majorana on bass, Vannucchi on keyboards and Alessandroni himself on guitar. For this reissue the sound has been restored and the cover art reproduced exactly as it was. Thanks to Francesco Argento (at Liuto), Luciano Cantone and Davide Rosa (at Schema) we now have the chance to hold a very faithful copy of the original release and listen back to this long gone masterpiece again. "

Description of The Feed-Back as found on the same website: "CD edition. Long-awaited reissue of this incredible and near-mythical 1970 album, remastered from the original master tapes with superior sound quality, replica of the original RCA LP (in gatefold digipack with additional liner notes) in a limited edition of 500 copies. An insane amalgam of avant-improvisation and motorik krautrock beats that, understandably, has become one of the most collectable LPs ever issued (original copies are impossible to obtain). Just as the first "krautrock" lp's were coming out in Germany, in Italy we had a surprisingly similar counterpart: this album. It consists of three long instrumental tracks, somewhere in between psych-rock, avantgarde jazz and funky jams. The sound is definitely experimental and ostentatiously "underground". None of the instruments involved tries to be reassuring: the guitar is scratchy, the trumpet sounds choked, piano and keyboards are always dissonant and a background of "proto-industrial" noises is present all along the record. The music, anyway, is thrilling. The drum patterns, in particular, are extraordinary: regular, tight, groovy, and incredibly close to the "motorik" beat of Can and Neu!...Mystical, spaced-out free music at its best. "The Group" was not a band of young beatniks. As a matter of fact, it's just a pseudonym for Gruppo d'Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, a project of renown soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone along with other important experimental musicians. The rock-focused attitude of the record is quite surprising for  such a team of classically-trained men already in their forties!"

Our feature of The Braens's Machine and The Feed-Back respectively.