CRIME - 'MURDER BY GUITAR'

Formats

• SV050 - LP

  857176003508

• KC012CD - CD

  655035042220

Details

**CLASSIC BACK IN PRINT ON VINYL**San Francisco's first and only rock n' roll band, CRIME loomed over the entire Mabuhay Gardens scene with their blistering 1976 single "Hot Wire My Heart." CRIME's loose, damaged rock n' roll was as immediate as it was controversial. They were Punk by any definition, yet shunned the label with a guttersnipe sneer. Their meticulously cultivated aesthetic of S&M graphics and police uniforms produced some of the era's most indelible imagery. One of their finest moves was playing in the San Quentin prison yard. Formed by guitarists/vocalists Johnny Strike and Frankie Fix, CRIME enlisted bassist Ron The Ripper and drummers Ricky "Tractor" Williams (later of The Sleepers), Brittley Black, and Hank Rank. Joey D'Kaye later joined on keyboards and bass duties. For the first time, this LP release collects the sick energy of CRIME's three singles along with nine previously unreleased studio recordings from 1976 to 1980. The visceral churn and unwieldy leads on tracks like “Frustration" and “Piss On Your Dog" make Murder By Guitar the definitive statement from this prescient American underground band.

Tracks

Press

MOJO Magazine Top 20 Reissues

Audio & Video

STEVE REICH - 'FOUR ORGANS / PHASE PATTERNS'

Formats

• SV096 - CD

  855985006956

• SV096LP - LP

  855985006963

Details

*REPRESSED AND RESTOCKED* Steve Reich remains one of the most important figures in 20th century music. Though he studied at the prestigious arts institutions Julliard and Mills College, by the mid- 1960s Reich set about dismantling the very orthodoxy that he had been trained in. Forming a new musical language based on repetitive processes, Reich became established as part of the so-called “Big Four” of New York minimalists (along with La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Philip Glass). Reich’s influence can easily be seen today in both the classical world and contemporary pop music. “Four Organs” is the ultimate minimalist composition. Performed by Reich, Glass, Art Murphy and Steve Chambers, four identical Farfisa organs strike a single chord and gradually lengthen each note to produce polyrhythms between the players. Anchored by Jon Gibson’s stoicallysteady pulse on maracas, the piece deconstructs its opening burst to a sustained mass of sound – stretching the tones to create (in Reich’s words) “slow-motion music.” Inspired by Reich’s early training on drums, “Phase Patterns” treats the keyboards like tuned percussion instruments: a basic rhythm pattern is played in unison and almost imperceptibly increases tempo to move out-of-sync. Each progressive cycle emphasizes unique figures that are not generated by an individual alone, but rather emerge from the communal expression of the group. Originally released on Shandar in 1971, Four Organs / Phase Patterns is one of most highly regarded avant-garde recordings in the past 45 years. This CD release features cover photography by artist Michael Snow and is recommended for fans of Neu!, Glenn Branca and Tim Hecker.

Tracks

1. Four Organs
2. Phase Patterns

Press

Audio & Video

ADELA MEDE - 'SZABADSAG'

Formats

• LSSN083 - LP

Details

Slovak-Hungarian musician Adela Mede explores the interplay between voice and technology with field recordings. She sings in three languages (Slovak, Hungarian and English). Intimate ambient utterances with themes of spiritual growth accompanied by experimental electronics with a wide scope of influences; from minimalism to folklore. Initially released in early 2022 to universal acclaim on digital and cassette, Night School is extremely excited to share Szabadság on vinyl. Mastered by Rupert Clervaux for vinyl, the clearer format teases out new nuances in the music, revealing a physicality and permanence to Mede’s first masterwork. "Szabadság is a navigation. This debut by Adela Mede, recorded in her family home on the Slovakian border with Hungary, searches through the personal, familial, cultural, folkloric and geographic of her past and present. Examining both the vulnerability and determination of her voice - as it leaves the lips, raw, and in the ways it can be transformed with digital processing - the embodied memories of language, of utterance, are explored. Airy, open sound worlds and tentative strings of improvised naked vocal transform themselves into insistent repetition. Fizzing, sparkling electronics are set against the beautiful grainy depth of field recordings. The locations, these places, are found and lost - home is found and lost - in a dance of fragmented vocal harmonies. Three languages (English, Hungarian, Slovak) weave a song of spring, nature, forgiveness, togetherness and rebirth.” – words by Lisa Busby “Ostensibly speaking, Szabadság, the debut album from Adela Mede, is an avant-garde/experimental composition record with a deep interest in voice. Peel back the layers, and it’s also an art-pop record that reaches for the stars.” - Dazed “The vocals on Szabadság navigate between three languages: Hungarian, Slovak, and English. But the melancholy inflexion in her voice transcends meanings, words, and linguistic systems across any borders.” - The Quietus “It’s an exploration of what it means to find home across different countries, cities and languages, revelling in the dis/comfort of a life stretched across borders” - The Wire

Tracks

1. H?romszorra J?v?k ?ssze
2. Interlude I
3. Spolu
4. Interlude II
5. Gy?ngyvir?g
6. Interlude III
7. Sloboda
8. Na Jar Sa V?etko Roztop?
9. Voda Sa Vr?ti Tie?

Press

Audio & Video

THINGS FALL APART - 'BYE BYE MY ROSE'

Formats

• JAW054 - 7"

Details

Available again for the first time in 51 years. This banger has been in our DJ box for many years. First issued by our all-time favorite label, President Records in 1972. This was THINGS FALL APART's one and only release. Contrary to speculation, THE EQUALS nor Eddy Grant had anything to do with this record despite it sounding very much like THE EQUALS circa "Stand Up And Be Counted". Both songs were written and sang by Ralph Adu. Mind the fuzz! Remastered by Sean M. Lennon straight from the original master tapes from the President Records archive. 

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

MY DAD IS DEAD - 'PEACE, LOVE & MURDER'

Formats

• SCAT85 - LP

  753417008519

• SCAT85X - LP (COLOURED)

  753417085015

Details

Peace, Love & Murder was the second album by Cleveland’s My Dad Is Dead, originally released in 1987 by Boston’s Birth Records. Like the debut, ...And He’s Not Gonna Take It Anymore, Mark Edwards wrote and performed all the music on his own. While not a significant departure from that album, Peace, Love & Murder does differ from its predecessor and has some qualities that make it unique in the voluminous MDID discography. While combining live drums with drum machine is a hallmark of the MDID style, on this album Edwards introduced the Roland TR-505 into the mix, and in a bold move recorded the live drums first, which had the effect of making the rhythm tracks feel a bit more organic despite the presence, and occasionally the prominence, of the TR-505. Modal guitar tunings remain de rigeur here, but Edwards’ abilities as a guitarist display a marked increase in proficiency and imagination. While the debut album sprawls a bit, PLM is a tight and focused ten song set, buoyed by a more impactful production job by Chris Burgess. Just as the debut album had a few lighter (or at least slightly less grim) songs, so does this album, but here they shine with a bit more pop sparkle. “Babe In The Woods” and “Hill O’ Beans” would go on to be fan favorites for many years, as would the utterly harrowing unstoppable bulldozer that is “Like A Vise.” All these years on, the album’s closer “Fireball” has become oddly relevant and chilling. Sung from the POV of a mass shooter to a droning riff that evokes Middle Eastern modes, the narrator intones, “I’m gonna go out in a blaze of glory / today’s the day I’m gonna make it to the headlines.” The whole album has remarkable cohesion and pacing, as well as variety, and, not to mention ,what a god-tier track “Breakdown” is. So grab a black overcoat and “Open Wide.”

Tracks

1. Force Feed
2. Babe In The Woods
3. Open Wide
4. The Dark Side
5. Like A Vise
6. Breakdown
7. Hill O? Beans
8. Your Love
9. 20 Yards Deep
10. Fireball

Press

Reissue of cult Cleveland post punk?s band
1987 album, out-of-print for thirty-five years. For fans of Joy Division, Interpol,
Sisters Of Mercy

Audio & Video

MY DAD IS DEAD - 'POW!'

Formats

• SCAT86X - LP (COLOURED)

  753417086012

• SCAT86 - LP

  753417008618

Details

Here one has a reissue of a My Dad Is Dead record that never was. Recorded shortly after Peace, Love & Murder, The Pow! EP was intended to be released in the summer of 1987 on Cleveland’s St. Valetine Records, but that never quite happened. Newly signed to NYC’s Homestead Records, it was resolved that the tracks could find a home there, and they were later issued on The Best Defense outtakes compilation on that label. Now, thirty-seven years on, the EP as originally intended is being released. Like its predecessors, Pow! is an isolationist post-punk affair with Mark Edwards performing all musical duties. Pow! features three strong tracks in stunning 45RPM sound, or maybe one should just say it’s really freaking loud and sounds better than the last time around. First is a reprise of “AntiSocialist,” a highlight from the 1985 debut album. But this is not a mere re-recording, but a new arrangement of the song with additional sections and lyrics, and a more aggressive feel with unmistakable undertones of violence (“I wanna fix ’em with my bare hands”). On the flip is the haunting “In the Morning,” in some ways a foreshadowing of the murderess later meet on “Nothing Special.” Wrapping things up is the instrumental “The Best Defense,” which is about as spritely and engaging as Mr Edwards gets during this era

Tracks

1. Anti-Socialist 2
2. In The Morning
3. The Best Defense

Press

Unreleased EP by cult Cleveland postpunk band, originally supposed to be
released in 1987

Audio & Video

ORCHESTRA GOLD - 'MEDICINE'

Formats

• OG002 - LP

  795154137480

• OG002CD - CD

  195269196868

Details

Behind Oakland CA-based ensemble Orchestra GOLD’s original sound is a decade-long story of knowledge, respect, and collaboration between Mariam Diakite of Mali and Erich Huffaker of Oakland. Blending the traditions of Mali and American Rock/Funk with a retro feel, OG represents a world of powerful cross-cultural experience. The group transcends borders and boundaries to be a force of healing within the community. OG offers a kaleidoscope of magical sound deeply rooted in the past while boldly blazing towards the genre-bending future: African Psychedelic Rock. OG’s vibrant sound is spearheaded by the dynamic Mariam Diakite, whose raw, hypnotic vocals deliver heartfelt and thought-provoking lyrics in the highly symbolic Bambara language. While paying homage to Malian musical traditions, this fierce new sound thrives with heavy swinging rhythms, a funky fresh brass section, and cosmic guitar licks. With the January 2023 release of their third album, Medicine, this profoundly spiritual and danceinducing ensemble continues their pursuit of spreading healing and community through the universal gift of music.

Tracks

1. Keleya
2. Koniya
3. Baara Nyuma
4. BoboFoli
5. Gende
6. Dia ye Banna
7. Segou Heat
8. Tequila Jam

Press

Blending the traditions of Mali and American Rock/Funk with a retro feel, OG represents a world of powerful cross-cultural experience.

Audio & Video