summary
Thursday, 24 May
Recommended release
*130 page book bound in soft cover* A wild trip through memory lane to an era filled with sleazy films, loud garage rock and industrial music experiments. Between 1985 and 1988, Swedish writer and photographer Carl Abrahamsson published his own fanzine Lollipop. The FanzinEra book contains photos & text from some of the interviews. Included in the book: Iggy Pop, The Cramps, Gun Club, Sonic Youth, Joe Coleman, Lydia Lunch & much moreWednesday, 23 May
Bonafide ledges allegiance to all strands of underground Hip Hop and street culture, and their mutual relatives. Their latest issue stars Doom's mask on the cover and the man himself in interview, beside features on Juan Atkins, Lex Records, Rusko, Pete Rock, Adult Swim and graffiti from Daim and Sick Boy. Ch-ch-check it oot, pal.
Thursday, 17 May
**Edition of 100 pro-duped cassettes housed in silk-screened J-card. Includes voucher for FLAC download redeemable from the label** 'Infinite Presence' is a compilation of remastered, remixed and unreleased missives from Plague Recordings' Wicked Messenger spanning the period 2006-2008AD. Three revised tracks from the CDr demo 'A Three-Eyed Fox Lurking In The Serpent's Throat' feature beside 'Ascension' from the 'Phoenix' EP and 'Goatride' from the 'Faces Trilogy' EP. Two unreleased tracks from late 2008/early 2009 'Perpetual Sacrifice' and 'Ver Sacrum' are also included. Black… Read more
CHILLY GONZALES
The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales Live With Orchestra
Gentle Threat
DVD // £15.99
Cat. Number: GENTLE16DVD
"Chilly Gonzales left Canada for Berlin in 1998. Daft Punk, Bjork remixes did him well, but it wasn't enough. So on to Paris, and collaborations with Feist on her Let It Die and The Reminder albums. Solo Piano then became Gonzales' own best selling album, introducing Gonzo to an audience who actually buy music sometimes. The piano pieces were used in documentaries, in films. But to fully satisfy his insatiable ambition, only one thing was left to do and he did it in 2009: Chilly Gonzales broke Guinness' World Record for longest solo concert with 27 h… Read more
Thursday, 10 May
Your printed monthly dose of sonic news, dialogue, reviews and criticism features lo-fi star R Stevie Moore - spiritual godfather to Ariel Pink - on the cover and in conversation with Matthew "Woebot" Ingram, besides featured articles on Chicago Footwork elder, Traxman, rave maverick Bass Clef, elemental composer Annea Lockwood, and Nik Colk Void of Factory Floor and Carter Tutti Void. Jan Jelinek shares knowledge in the Invisible Jukebox section and there's the ongoing discourse of the Collateral Damage column to keep up with..
Thursday, 03 May
**2012 reissue in new slimline cartridge-style packaging** During Wire's first period of activity in the late seventies, their brief, brittle compositions, artfully oblique lyrics and cerebral yet confrontational approach - entire sets of unreleased songs, audience interaction limited to "we don't play requests" - saw them cast outside the new orthodoxy of post punk and new wave, playing for a dedicated cult audience and releasing 3 seminal albums that have had immesurably more acclaim attached to them retrospectively than was ever voiced at the time. In those dark days of rock tv being limited … Read more
Wednesday, 25 April
VARIOUS / NOW AGAIN
Soul Cal: Funky Diso & Modern Soul 1971-1982
Now Again Records
Book and CD // £14.99
Cat. Number: NA5084
"A decade in the making, Soul Cal is the definitive survey of America's best independent 70's soul-ensembles. Profiled within this album and book are the bands that transitioned from funk to disco; the bands that kept up the backbeat as rhythm moved to the back- seat. Collected here for the first time are the musical dreams of dozens, dreams that were deferred but were never discarded. From the positively-funky sound of Luther Davis' "You Can Be a Star" to the airtight hi hats and space-bass that guides Pure Essence's "Wake Up," Soul Cal offers the enthused a chance to listen, read and reflect on this great burst of black American creativity."
Thursday, 12 April
RALE
The Moon Regarded, and the Bright One Sought
NNA TAPES
Cassette // £5.99
NOW: £3.99
Cat. Number: NNA040
Digital edition of this excellent cassette-only release from William Hutson's Rale project, recently issued by the always fascinating NNA Tapes imprint. Two long tracks clock in at exactly 12:54, each working through beautifully measured drone/ambience which come thematically in line with the Helge Sten aesthetic. The tracks build and pause with an almost unnerving infrequency, reminding us of Deathprod's classic 'Treetop Drive', albeit with a completely different palette. As the label explains: "...the listener is rewarded with a pause of silence after each swell, leaving the opportunity to reflect and contemplate on the sound's vastness and beauty".
Uwe Schmidt (Atom TM/Señor Coconut/Odd Machine) looks resplendent on the cover of Wire magazine's May issue, and discusses his myriad sonic persona inside. One of US electronica's most intriguing prospects, Laurel Halo is subject to a fascinating feature, as are sound artists Benedict Drew and the venerable Scott Walker, while Brooklyn-based improvisor Mary Halvorson takes on the Invisible Jukebox and Julian Cowley offers a guide to Sound Poetry in the Primer. All the usual reviews, listings, and columns feature. Always worthy of your time.
Wednesday, 04 April
GUY-MARC HINANT & DOMINIQUE LOHLE
Ecce Homo: Un Portrait De Celestin Deliege
OME / SUB ROSA
DVD // £13.99
NOW: £8.99
Cat. Number: OME15
"Celestin Deliège, recently deceased, was the last representative (with Pierre Boulez) of post war modernism. Prestigious musicologist (passing his encyclopedic knowledge through violent polemic), teacher at the Conservatory of Liege, Brussels and la Sorbonne, he impressed many students – students who become important composers of today, not least Hughes Dufourt, a founder of spectral music. This film is made from ten meetings filmed (introspective face to face or with Decroupet Pascal, Francois Nicolas, Fred Lerdahl, Hugues Dufourt, Antoine Bo… Read more
Thursday, 15 March
Planet Mu introduce The Host with his eponymous debut album. It's no secret that The Host is a pseudonym for a well known µ cadet, as you'll be able to tell within seconds of hearing the samples, but for less aware listeners we'll leave that mystery to your google search bar. His first album in this mode is an impressionistic, nostalgic reflection on the internet and its otherworldly nature. It's apparent in track titles such as 'Neo Geocities', '3AM Surfing', 'Second Life' or 'Angel Fire' - some of which we suspect might only be relevant to users over a certain age - and while the music isn't … Read more
*Comes with a bonus Wire Tapper CD* Sun Araw's on the cover of this month's Wire, and in conversation on "the theories of Marshall McLuhan, deep focus production, and a vision of paradise" with Derek Walmsley. Also, the hyper-complexities of Conlon Nancarrow's life and work are revisited by Philip Clark, disco legend Tom Moulton does the Invisible Jukebox, and Simon Reynolds ponders our interconnected musical landscape under the heading "We are all David Toop now". All the usual reviews, listings and regular discourse feature, too.
Thursday, 16 February
A stately-looking Earth adorn March's edition of Wire magazine and inside discuss their shift into new realms with Jospeh Stannard. Elsewhere, KIng Tubby is the subject of this month's primer; :zoviet*france: disclose their current sonic whereabouts; Ghost Box undertake the Invisible Jukebox; Julia Holter gives an extensive, intriguing interview; Vicki Gittens of People Like Us contributes to the ongoing 'Collateral Damage' discourse. The usual features, reviews and listings also feature.
Monday, 13 February
**Hand-wrapped cassette with free download code redeemable from the label** Lo-fi, noisy garage rock from Shanghai's Xiao Zhong & F aka Pairs. They've been making a heavy impression upon their home city's music scene and this debut album of urgent, acutely melodic, yet f**ked noise pop should see them going places.
Thursday, 19 January
**DVD documenting Radiohead's 'From The Basement' performance of 'King Of Limbs', including unreleased songs 'The Daily Mail' and 'Staircase', plus bonus track 'Supercollider', housed in an embossed, 32 page hardback book of photos from the recording session**
Based G, Lil B lords it over the Bay Bridge on the front cover of February's Wire edition. He features in an extensive interview, while Keith Fullerton Whitman gives a fascinating discussion with Derek Walmsley and Daniel Martin-McCormick sheds light on his Ital and Sex Worker sound. Also, This Heat drummer Charles Hayward is tested by the Invisible Jukebox and Terre Thaemlitz contributes to the ongoing discourse surrounding digital music and culture in the excellent 'Collateral Damage' section. All the usual reviews, features and listings, too.
Thursday, 05 January
Brand new tees from Hyperdub! This is a size XL. Black “Hanes Beefy” heavyweight cotton t-shirt with a white screen-printed Hyperdub logo on breast and right sleeve plus a custom-stitched Hyperdub label sewn into neckline.
Thursday, 15 December
THE HEATWAVE / ROLLO JACKSON
The Heatwave Presents: Showtime! The History of UK Dancehall Live on Stage
The Heatwave
DVD // £14.99
Cat. Number: HWDVD001
Swiftly following his brilliant 'Tape Crackers' DVD, director Rollo Jackson linked with Dancehall institution The Heatwave to celebrate the UK's deeply rooted soundsystem culture. Spanning all flexes since the rave era, in just over an hour 'Showtime' features in-depth interviews and performances from the likes of Wiley, General Levy, Stush and Skibadee, charting an oral history of UK music from a bassbin perspective. It documents an airhorn-fuelled party held on 15th June 2011 where, in a rare instance, Grime spitters… Read more
The annual rundown of the Wire's favourite releases of 2011, plus tonnes of genre and guest charts.
Thursday, 08 December
SOUL JAZZ
Voguing & The House Ballroom Scene Of New York City 1989-92
Soul Jazz
Large Book // £19.49
Cat. Number: SJR249
**Handsome 200-page deluxe 24x30cm flexibound book with stacks of stunning photos by Chantal Regnault circa 1989-92, with intoductory essay by Tim Lawrence. Ha!** "Voguing came out of the extraordicary house ballroom scene that emerged in Hralem, New York int he 1980s where men competed against one another for their dancing skills, the realness of their drag and their ability to walk on a catwalk runway like a model. Voguing erupted into the mainstream in 1990 when Madonna's song Vogue became number one in over 30 countries. The year before Malcom M… Read more
Monday, 28 November
A charmingly piquant blend of sheet-noise and blissful harmony from Bomb Shop's oddly-monikered Ambrosia (@). 'Hysteria Sibiriana' lies somewhere between Tim Hecker's soaring harmonic noise and Mika Vainio's gut-churning experiments, and that's definitely a good thing. White noise sails through chatting synthesized bleeps and devastating percussion before we reach the album's unusually peaceful 15-minute closer 'Demain'. Suddenly all the cacophony is stripped away and a simple music box is allowed to tiptoe around a gorgeous female vocal. This might be a far cry from the record's opening half, but acts as a perfect juxtaposition somehow - recommended!
Thursday, 10 November
Maverick kosmische guitarist and proto-techno inspiration Manuel Göttsching adorns the cover of this months issue and reveals how he made his timeless E2-E4 to Keith Moliné. Sandwell District also discuss their art brut trance Techno with Robin Howells and Grouper imparts her childhood background in the Fourth Way Christianity sect and the nature of her "mordant Ambient" composition. Rashad & Spinn give an entertaining Invisible Jukebox section and there's also a primer on Turkish psychedelia besides articles on Preditah, Roger Reynolds, André Vida, Belfast and all the reviews and news you'll need until next month.
Thursday, 03 November
"Shot live for TV by the legendary German music show “Rockpalast” this DVD represents the earliest example of a complete Fahey concert performance. The multi-camera filming features detailed close-ups of Fahey’s playing style giving fans a rare insight into what Pete Townsend has called the William Burroughs of the guitar. Fahey’s 1978 visit to Europe saw him in fine wild form performing an 11 track set and as an incredibly rare bonus a short interview with the maverick iconoclast. All Regions DVD In CD Digipak. Year: 1978 Month: 03 Day: 17 Location: Audimax Hamburg John Fahey… Read more
Monday, 31 October
"Kevin Coyne remains one of the UK’s greatest lost cult talents; one of John Peel’s all time favorite musicians, and an acknowledged artistic hero of contemporary talents as diverse as Will Oldham & John Lydon.His then record company Virgin described him as the ultimate anti-star.This super rare recording was shot live in 1979 for the legendary German TV music programme “Rockpalast” when Kevin was at the height of his considerable performing powers.The DVD features some 18 songs from across his then career (1973 to 1979) and serves as almost a personal greatest hits set, … Read more
Thursday, 27 October
*Limited edition of 200 copies. Two live recordings by the former Swans participant recorded in 2001 and 2004. Scratchy, buzzing and humming electronics placed around the space in strange and slowly convulsive patterns, kinda like a more restrained Russell Haswell live performance.* "Lary 7 is a multimedia alchemist able to coax profane and inscrutable sounds and images from numerous and mysterious devices. His work has been described as that of a magician or scientist, not always certain of the outcome, but determined to see it through to its (Il)logical end. Since the 1970's he;s been build… Read more
*Limited edition version on cassette - The dream pop teaming of Alex Bleeker (of ...And The Freaks), Matthew Mondanile (Ducktails), and Martin Courtney present their widely anticipated (semi) Big label album 'Days'. "Recorded in Upstate New York through the late winter/spring of 2011 with Kevin McMahon (The Walkmen, Titus Andronicus), Days is a gorgeous suite of timelessly melodic, achingly melancholy pop songs and a delightfully confident follow-up to 2009's exceptionally well-received eponymous debut. Comprised of nine new recordings and a revisit of last year's enduringly wonderful 'Out of Tu… Read more
Thursday, 20 October
SOUL JAZZ
The Album Cover Art of Studio One Records
Soul Jazz
HARDCOVER BOOK (LARGE) // £24.99
Cat. Number: SJR247
This deluxe 200 page hardback 12"x12"book features hundreds of stunning full size record cover designs from the legendary Studio One Records. Described by Chris Blackwell as The University Of Reggae, Studio One is by far the most important record label in the history of Reggae music, an A-Z of Jamaican music as iconic as Motown was to soul, or Blue Note for Jazz. The book features classic artwork from Bob Marley And The Wailers, Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Freddie McGregor, The Skatalites, Marcia Griffiths, Burning Spear, The Heptones, Toots and the Maytals and many … Read more
This month The Wire features DJ Rupture on the cover and in conversation with Peter Shapiro talking about post-colonial cultural hybrids and his recent version of The Shining soundtrack set in a Dubai. Also, Gang Gang Dance step up to the Invisible Jukebox, David Lynch is interviewed for the Cross Platform column, David Toop analyses The Beach Boys' 'SMiLE' sessions, and Drew Daniel of Matmos proposes a radical philosophy of "queer sound", besides all the usual reviews, listings and columns.
Thursday, 06 October
Fierce County's debut release for Bomb Shop contains four tracks of exquisitely crafted modern folk, recorded and produced by Rough Fields. Fierce County are Benjamin Clough, Chris Rice and Tim Mosley. Their ethos is simple; play anywhere they are welcomed and record only live, with each take appearing totally unique and fiercely proud of its imperfections
Thursday, 25 August
"For 19 years, critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek has toured solo and as front man of both Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon. Until now, he has never given filmmakers access into his life on the road. Filmed during portions of Mark Kozelek’s European and North American tours of 2010 and 2011, this is a rare glimpse into Mark’s backstage areas and passenger seat travels. Shot in black and white, this dynamic film captures the fast paced travel of a singer on a solo-acoustic journey, giving viewers an inspirational look at its high points, and also a stark view of its mundane rea… Read more
