JACKIE LEVEN - 'STRAIGHT OUTTA CALEDONIA'

Formats

• RVSN002CD - CD

  5060446124109

• RVSN002G - LP (COLOURED)

  5060446124093

Details

*REPRESSED AND FINALLY AVAILABLE ON VINYL AGAIN. x400 Transparent Green* “I think he is one of the most astonishing lyricists Scotland has ever produced, and in his latter years he was a true troubadour, a balladeer of sad, unsettling and uplifting songs, songs that blossom and bear fruit as you listen to them. Here then is Jackie Leven in all his ripe majesty.” — Ian Rankin Straight Outta Caledonia is the first commercially available “Greatest Hits” of the outsider songwriter Jackie Leven, an artist who has largely remained in obscurity in his native Scotland despite being one of the greatest wordsmiths – and singers – it ever produced. A well-travelled musician who began making psychedelic, progressive music in the late 60s before emerging as an epic storyteller full of pathos, humour and humanity in the 90s, Leven lived and wrote like many of the fragile, gregarious characters of his songs; large, full of life and empathy. Leven passed away in 2011 after recording 30+ albums under different guises or with his briefly successful New Wave band Doll by Doll. Straight Outta Caledonia is a compilation collated by Night School Records on its Archival label School Daze that seeks to introduce Leven’s music to new generations. In an age of isolation, alienation and loss of visceral experience, Jackie Leven’s music can be massive and welcoming. It feels connected to some universal humanity and vibrates with vitality. His songs are often full of tragedy and comedy simultaneously, cutting straight to the heart, often plugging directly into the nervous system of the listener. His lyrics are rich, dense with imagery that can veer from apocalyptic to the comically banal in a sentence, with a songwriting panache that can be heavy handed to almost bursting point before skewering the song with a clownish, warm punchline. His productions ranged from Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue style rock band orchestrations with strings and organ as on the epic Ancient Misty Morning or they could be pared down to the purest form of folk song as on Poortoun: Leven on stage alone with an acoustic guitar, albeit played with a mastery of the instrument that he often only hinted at. Musically his sound can bend traditional structures or stay completely confined within them yet still forever push towards an ecstatic release, as on the cinematic Snow In Central Park. The most exciting, jaw-droppingly effective tool at Leven’s disposal was his voice. A multi-octave instrument that, though damaged during a savage assault in Fife, he used with flair; he had both a brazen disregard for the rules and a deep humility, all of which is evidenced with every phrasing. A baritone that could flit up through the register – always touched by his gentle Kirkcaldy accent – it’s the prime delivery method for his songs. Leven’s voice enabled him to inhabit the characters in his songs to an uncanny degree, a skill that in turn enables the listener to empathise with them and, subsequently, the singer. It’s most evident in stand out song The Sexual Loneliness Of Jesus Christ, a breathtaking re-telling of the life of its protagonist, not as a pure, sinless messiah but as a sexually frustrated, solitary man condemned to an existential loneliness no one else will ever feel. In many ways the track is the archetypal Jackie Leven song. Produced by Pere Ubu’s David Thomas, what strikes the ear first – after the samples of unemployed workers in Glasgow following the closing of the Clyde shipyards – is the audacious, rhythmic tremolo effect Leven employs through the verses before the production opens up to allow Leven’s vocal to lift into a soar, a freeing glide powered both by the force of the singer’s chutzpah and the inherent, doomed destiny of the protagonist. With any other singer such subject matter could come across as gauche or worse, pretentiously sonorous, but Jackie Leven’s genius was such that he could be this cinematic and brazen while touching something elemental and true in the beholder. It’s a skill evident in every song on Straight Outta Caledonia, the trademark of a songwriter who revelled and excelled in intensity with a lightness of touch. In his lifetime, Jackie Leven toured, wrote and recorded at a ferocious rate. He recorded under aliases to avoid record contract restrictions, played house shows in Europe after or instead of official concerts, events which were often spoken word story telling masterclasses as well as performances of his often bewilderingly dense songbook. His music has traditionally been catalogued as “folk” music and has been largely banished to a small, dedicated group of international fans and apostles both private and well known, like author Ian Rankin or Glenn Matlock. Since his passing in 2011 however, there has been a growing recognition amongst a newer generation, with artists like James Yorkston or Molly Nilsson publicly stating the influence of the unsung troubadour on their own craft. Jackie Leven’s fairytales for hard men are often forensic deconstructions of masculinity, sad and ecstatic, light and shadow, always endlessly rich, a resource as bountiful as Leven himself’s human spirit undoubtedly was.

Tracks

1. The Sexual Loneliness Of Jesus Christ
2. Straight Outta Caledonia
3. Heartsick Land
4. Irresistible Romance
5. Live Or Die
6. Some Ancient Misty Morning
7. Snow In Central Park
8. Poortoun
9. Dagenham Dream
10. Single Father

Press

6 page MOJO feature

'I think he is one of the most astonishing lyricists Scotland has ever produced...' - Ian Rankin. 9/10 UNCUT, **** - Mojo

Audio & Video

UPUPAYAMA - 'THE GOLDEN POND'

Formats

• CFUL-0253GREEN - LP (COLOURED)

Details

*REPRESS ALERT!  PEACOCK GREEN VINYL* Upupayāma is the musical persona of Alessio Ferrari, an Italian multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who lives in a small mountain village above the city of Parma. Upupayāma’s music is rooted strongly in Eastern and Western folk traditions, an approach that Ferrari blends with his own modern sensibilities and style. In addition to playing guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, Ferrari himself also incorporates a number of other instruments into his sound, including sitar, erhu, flute, and a variety of percussion instruments. Artist: UPUPAYAMA Title: THE GOLDEN POND Labels: Cardinal Fuzz (Europe), Centripetal Force (USA), Release Date: 25th November 22 For Ferrari, Upupayāma's 2020 debut was all about the journey. The album served a series of musical vignettes that visited and weaved its way through a succession magical settings. The Golden Pond, conversely, is all about location. Inspired by his frequent visits to a small lake near his mountain home, Ferrari intentionally focused on the details of the place he inhabited, a practice he decided would translate well with his approach to writing music. This is something Ferrari feels is best exemplified with the album's opening companion pieces, "Cuckoos from the House of Golden Tin" and "Entering the Time of Wilderness." The Golden Pond also continues Ferrari's practice of using "invented language" in his lyrics. Ferrari wants his voice to be heard as if it were an additional instrument, a tool that does not convey specific messages. His goal is to allow the listener to assign personal meaning to the music. He says, "I want my incorporating invented language is a way of breaking down the barriers that are sometimes created by language, by having to define something at all costs. Ferrari adds, "I think one of my unconscious dreams is not to have to define any[1]thing, but just to be carried away by our feelings." Earlier this year Ferrari put together a group of musicians to help him deliver his live vision of Upupayāma. They made their debut in Rome in May, and they will play a couple of shows in advance of the album being released. Both dates will be in October, one in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland and the other in Esslingen, Germany. Plans to tour throughout Eu[1]rope in the spring of 2023 are currently in the works via El Borracho Booking. The Golden Pond will be Upupayāma's second album with Centripetal Force and Cardinal Fuzz, the first being the well-received self-titled debut in 2021, which is being repressed to coincide with the release of The Golden Pond in November.

Tracks

Press

"Alessio Ferrari has let himself wander further into the wild cosmos of German Progressives, French soundtrack psych, and Middle Eastern raw ?70s rock." - Raven Sings the Blues

Audio & Video

LAUREN BARTH - 'STORMWAITING'

Formats

• SPIRITUAL025 - LP

  096962271701

Details

“Driving up the coast highway from LA, once you hit Santa Barbara you are struck with a noticeable change in landscape. It is the gateway to the Central Coast, where the contours of the land begin to take on more dramatic inclines and feelings burn like wildfires. This was the childhood home of Lauren Barth, ranch-living and horseriding amongst the golden and dusty open ranges that still expand through parts of California. It is at these gates of change that Lauren Barth explores on Stormwaiting, her second solo effort and first on the Spiritual Pajamas label. “Behind the musical landscape of Stormwaiting, Lauren drew from a backstory she created as inspiration. A young woman and spiritual leader of a commune, blind yet finds her way by a heightened sense of awareness, is caught between the physical world of ‘Rialto’ and the spiritual—‘Morian.’ ‘Stormwaiting’ is slang for living in Rialto and the storm is the tempest within Morian. The cult’s most important message is one of Awareness. Like her protagonist, Lauren steps through these contemplations of change coming, treading one step at a time between the physical and spiritual realms, in a bittersweet anticipation of something upon us. Each song is like a deep breath in, an exhale, a pondering of the past and a wonder about the future with an acute awareness of each passing moment. “Barth is a true seasoned folk music player, evoking the California folk movement of the late 1960s like David Crosby (who also hailed from the Santa Barbara area), while also calling upon British influences such as Bert Jansch, Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, and Pentangle, and the later American progressive folk music of Jeff Buckley, Joni Mitchell, and early Bonnie Raitt. In the time since her last solo record in 2017, she picked up the bass with Farmer Dave and the Wizards Of The West, and with her own music gained experience with the process of composing, recording, arranging, and ultimately the confidence to allow her creative instincts to flourish. She found the perfect partner with producer Lewis Pesacof, recording in his Echo Park home studio and has worked with artists such as Pearl Charles, Best Coast, Fidlar, and also works in the world of classical and world music. Tellingly, Stormwaiting has an expansive spirit, a document of a woman and creative spirit finding and embracing her voice beyond folk music and into her own spiritual universe.” —Scary Flowers

Tracks

1. Casita 2. Durango
3. Stormwaiting
4. Family Chant II
5. Paisley
6. Leave Behind
7. Highway Sleeping
8. Lord Of The Lake
9. Family Chant I

Press

For fans of David Crosby, Bert Jansch,
Incredible String Band, Fairport
Convention, Nick Drake, Pentangle, Jeff
Buckley, Joni Mitchell, and early Bonnie
Raitt

Audio & Video

JOZEF VAN WISSEM & JIM JARMUSCH - 'AMERICAN LANDSCAPES'

Formats

• INC032LP - LP

  734077085676

• INC031CD - CD

  734077085669

Details

The first two pieces "Cleveland "and "Akron" were recorded in 2022. These dark, long form, hypnotic drone pieces reflect the current state of America. The 3rd piece “American Landscapes was commissioned and performed by Stephen Petronio Dance Company in New York. According to the New York Times the piece is a spare, almost soothing composition by Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch itit’s a combination of lute, acoustic guitar and electric guitar. “Landscapes also features an arresting backdrop of changin g images by the artist Robert Longo The duo was supposed to perform the music in New York during the event but Jozef Van Wissem was not able to enter the USA because of Immigrant Visa Issues. Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Van Wissem met on the streets of New York in 2006. They shared a lot of interest and background so a collaboration and a friendship was born. Jarmusch was looking to have Van Wissem compose a score for a film he had been trying to make for years, what he described as a “crypto vampire film abou t two lovers, outsider types who have been in love for hundreds of years. Van Wissem’s work comes from a tradition of avant garde minimalism and lends itself well to the director’s stark cinematic works. Jarmusch has played guitar in bands on and off since the late ‘70s. Van Wissem’s compositional style involves hypnotic circular musical phrases that allow for a lot of contemplative space between the notes. Their first live performance was in Issue Project Room in Brooklyn in October 2011, where they appeared together for a Van Wiss em curated concert program called “New Music for Early Instruments. The idea for their first album, Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity (Important Records) developed from their live performance. Jarmusch has said that he considers these songs as Van Wissem’s compositions, and sees himself as someone filling in the background to Jozef ’s foreground, like the “scenic on a film shoot, the one who paints the backdrops. “The sound of the lute is as bright as the sun, a beautiful red color and my stuff sounds sort of like the moon, more like blue, like mercury. Jozef Van Wissem Lutes, Condensator Drones, Electronics Jim Jarmusch Acoustic and Electric Guitars Front cover by Robert Longo All Compositions By Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch.

Tracks

Side A
1. Cleveland
2. Akron

Side B
3. American Landscapes

Press

Audio & Video

UP-TIGHT - 'SWEET SISTER'

Formats

• CFUL-0259 - LP

Details

Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records at last bring this mighty masterpiece of dark and wild psychedelia from the Japanese three-piece legends! Fuzz and reverb drenched jamming sounds from the basements of Hamamatsu evoking the always welcomed ghosts of Amon Düül and Les Rallizes Denudes. "Tokyo psych monsters Up-Tight come out of the classically wasted/drug-damaged school of excessive fuzz and reverb, giving the nod to the endless jam style of Les Rallizes Denudes while spiking their sound with dark downer ballads that owe as much to The Jacks as they do to The Velvet Underground. If you can picture Spacemen 3 circa “The Perfect Prescription” produced by Ghost circa “Temple Stone” then you’re close to the outrageous levels of psychedelic excess captured here. Tomoyuki’s guitar tone has to be heard to be believed, with tactile garage punk crunch put to the service of endlessly euphoric orbits of three droning chords. Up-Tight have been responsible for a buncha the most memorable releases to come out of the post-PSF underground but this has to be their recorded pinnacle, the perfect balance of two chord Velvet downers and strung-out post-Rallizes string violence. One of our records of the year so far- You need to hear this, Highly recommended!" (Volcanic Tongue)

Tracks

Press

VERY LTD COPIES!

Audio & Video

VINNUM SABBATHI - 'FUZZONAUT'

Formats

• SBR031RV - LP (COLOURED)

Details

Repress Orange base with heavy green splatter (Bonus live tracks on B Side) Vinnum Sabbathi – Fuzzonaut is being issued on vinyl for the first time and I really happy to say its Stolen Body Records doing it. Originally released as a split with Bar De Monjas on July 2nd 2015. This version features Vinnum Sabbathi’s blistering fuzz laden space exploration side as well as a bonus track not originally on the record – The Curse of Silence. This is a unique version of an incredible album. Not to be missedRecorded in a single take. All samples courtesy of NASA’s Educational Documentaries.

Tracks

HEX I: The Mastery Of Space

Intermission *Fluctuations)

HEX II: Foundation Pioneers

The Curse of Silence

Press

The world deserves Vinnum Sabbathi and you deserve Fuzzonaut!
-Pete, Heavy Planet.

Audio & Video

ANTHONY `REEBOP` KWAKU BAH - 'S/T'

Formats

• JETRECORDS004LP - LP

  826853001250

Details

- Solo album from the percussionist of TRAFFIC and CAN - A boiling cauldron of polyrhythmic grooves and jazz improvisations with a strong early 70ies prog touch - Haunting Exotica jazz passages with “jungle” feel - From naughty swing and bebop to freaked out free jazz and enchanting soul jazz, spiced with a wide brass section - For fans of Osibisa, Eric Burden & War, Ginger Baker Airforce, Santana, Miles Davis,… all around 1969 to 1973 This is the 1973 solo album by Ghanaian percussionist Anthony Kwaku Bah, who was given the nickname „Reebop“ by American jazz legend Dizzie Gillespie. He passed away early at the age of 39 in Stockholm in 1983, but before made himself a name for his works with UK 70s rock heroes TRAFFIC and German Krautrockers CAN, amongst others. If you might expect here the prototypical Afro Beat and Afro Rock you mostly know from British bands, you will be surprised that this is only one part of the deal. Yes, there are African elements to be found, buried somewhere in this boiling cauldron where polyrhythmic grooves are the base for jazz improvisations by the brass section, that range from naughty swing and bebop, to freaked out free jazz and enchanting soul jazz the way it was popular in the late 60s. The arrangements are utterly lush with so much going on here in every aspect that you would get lost if there was no trace of melody to be discovered, but there they are and they tell you fantastic stories of exotic places that only exist in your wildest dreams. Kwaku Bah’s rhythm patterns grab you by the horns and pull you into a world of their own. Hypnotical, irresistible, hot and vivid. The tunes combine jazz, soul, funk and each one is constructed like a self – contained story. One could imagine these tunes being used as library music for 70s movies from action to romance. All pieces though are characterized by the constantly pulsating rhythm. To avoid drifting into the field of insubstantial disco dance music, the performances witnessed here were executed with the highest possible emotional intensity and dedication. Lay back, close your eyes and float away on a raft of sound upon the wild river of grooves and melodies. Some haunting Exotica jazz passages with a typical „jungle“ feel get thrown in for the good measure. There are even vocals in an African language hard to identify, which create and even more mysterious atmosphere. This is just an introduction part of another powerful speed funk groover but the vocals stay and make this a clear standout track. Saxophone and guitars seem to have a duel here. You will not sit still while having this tune „Iphonohimine“ coming down on you like a thunderstorm. Blues, Afro Beat, Psychedelic Rock, Funk, it can all be found in here and the band goes wild into an everlasting improvisation that deprives you of your breath. Can this record get even better? Do not ask, just enjoy what comes next. If you think that some melodies by the giant brass section sound a bit too catchy just reach out beyond these harmony lines and find yourself in a thicket of grooves, pulsations, bits and pieces of melody with a dense, sultry atmosphere. Some smaller parts might make you think of cruise ship big bands and white suits, but everybody will soon drop these and dance in their underwear for the hot blooded power funk base of the tune called „Africa“, which will take over one’s soul and set it on fire. So clean, so nice and so filthy and dangerous at the same time, this album is a masterpiece of it’s style. The exciting and very sensual funk rock of „Lovin‘ you baby“ with crazy fuzz guitars and a dark and haunting approach is another reason to kneel down when you put this record onto your turntable. Great clean lead guitars give it a latin garage rock edge Carlos Santana would commit serious crimes for. If you love bands like OSIBISA, Eric Burden & WAR, GINGER BAKER AIRFORCE, SANTANA, Miles Davis, all around 1969 to 1973, this is what you always wanted to listen to. Grab your copy now. 

Tracks

Press

Solo album from the percussionist of TRAFFIC and CAN

Audio & Video