1981
Virtuoso German jazz drummer Klaus Weiss is probably mostly known for his supergroup project Niagara, which was an orchestra made entirely of drummers and percussionists, and the various […]
Featured in the “Organic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Chameleon 2 is the lone release by Fuchs-Goos-Band (formerly known as Chameleon), a German jazz-rock group […]
John Martyn’s attempt at going mainstream, Glorious Fool was released by Warner Elektra Atlantic, produced by his close friend / Genesis drummer Phil Collins, and featured Eric Clapton […]
Cult Japanese avant-garde group Mariah is best-known for their 1983 masterpiece Utakata No Hibi. Led by saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu (who released that incredible Kakashi album), the group includes other […]
Experiments With Ice were a short-lived English coldwave band that released one self-titled album on United Diaries subsidiary Experimental Records in 1981. Not much else is known about […]
One of his best post-Brian Jackson Arista albums, Reflections is Gil Scott-Heron’s return to spoken word and more poetry-oriented songs versus the more pop and hook-driven approach of […]
An underrated release from the vast ECM catalog, Faces is the second album from French horn player John Clark and his only appearance on Manfred Eicher’s revered jazz […]
Billy “Bang” Walker was a a student of Leroy Jenkins who developed his own personal style of avant-garde free jazz violin by imitating Eric Dolphy’s style at the […]
You Brought The Sunshine is a highly acclaimed studio album released by the legendary Detroit gospel group, The Clark Sisters. The album marked a significant milestone in their […]
Featured in El Marchante’s Experimental Sounds of Latin America. “The Triumph of Nicaragua is expressed in the explosion of joy and energy which dances through the music being […]
Gino Soccio released his third album in 1981 titled Closer, consisting of 6 major tunes that hit every emotion. The opening song “Try It Out,” is a disco […]
“Dream Theory In Malaya is titled after a paper by visionary anthropologist Kilton Stewart, who in 1935 visited a remarkable highland tribe of Malayan aborigines, the Senoi, whose […]
Debra Laws is the sister of Hubert Laws, Ronnie Laws & Eloise Laws; talent obviously runs in the family. Very Special is the first solo record Debra made […]
A dollar bin classic featuring the incredible 18.5-minute long “Macho City,” a near masterpiece which was played by David Mancuso at his legendary Loft parties. While Steve Miller […]
Essential listening from one of the great duo’s of modern electronic music, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts pieces together found vocals from unidentified radio hosts, smooth […]
The essential ambient masterpiece from Titanic and Avatar composer Michael Stearns… “I imagined myself shot out of the Earth’s resonance. We were Earth sensors sent out to bounce […]
A crucial and once overlooked Japanese band, Ichiko Hashimoto and Atsuo Fujimoto’s Colored Music formed in 1980 after both musicians took part in Yellow Magic Orchestra’s first tour […]
An EBM classic that influenced generations of artists from around the world, Liaisons Dangereuses is the debut and lone LP by Düsseldorf-based producers Beate Bartel and Chrislo Haas […]
Originally issued on Salsoul Records in ’81, Logg is the undisputed masterpiece by the godfather of boogie, Leroy Burgess. Burgess first made a name for himself as the […]
The New Age king of the bargain bin, Andreas Vollenweider has had quite the career. The Swiss harpist sold endless copies of records in the 80’s, collaborated with […]
An underrated gem from one of the Japanese jazz greats, Susto is essentially Masabumi Kikuchi doing his best Miles Davis electric period impression… and it works! Kikuchi brings […]
Considered the bridge between his punk-funk experiments on Dirty Mind and his first mainstream hit 1999, Controversy sees Prince take a step out of the deep eroticism of […]
Internal conflicts, contract obligations, touring commitments… The Stones were dealing with the whole nine when tasked to turn in a new album to follow up their underwhelming 1980 […]
Detroit’s Wendell Harrison is as much a teacher as he is an acclaimed reed player. Besides playing alongside numerous greats like Marvin Gaye, Sun Ra, and Aretha Franklin, […]
Walias Band was formed in Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa in the early 70’s during a tumultuous time. The band remained prolific alongside contemporaries like legendary vibraphone player […]
Years before releasing her seminal solo work Through the Looking Glass, Japanese percussionist Midori Takada led an ensemble of percussionists exploring African drum traditions, environmental music, and minimalism. […]
Partially recorded in Los Angeles, Izumi “Mimi” Kobayashi’s Coconuts High is a perfect tropical fusion album featuring American studio legends Abraham Laboriel (Quincy Jones), Paul Jackson (Patrice Rushen), […]
Featured in the “Psychedelic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Phase II – Go Go Pongs is the second and last album by amateur guitarist Klaus […]
Low Profile is the first album by the laid-back Dutch guitar hero Spike Wolters, a little-known Oegstgeest bedroom artist who home-recorded and privately released a series of progressive, […]
Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, better known as just Simone, is one of the most popular Brazilian MPB singers of all time. She sold more records than any other […]
On Sonidos De Aquel Dia, which translates to “Sounds of that Day”, two talented young prodigies come together to deliver a melodic, latin fusion masterpiece. Bassist César Franov, […]
Ghanian band Edikanfo’s manager had the idea to get Brian Eno on board to produce the the group’s debut album. Eno had some visibility in the West African […]
The result of over a decade of comprehensive research on the pre-Columbian instrumentation of Mesoamerica, Ipan In Xiktli Metztli is Mexican multi-instrumentalist Luis Pérez’s debut album and magnum […]
Walter Bachauer’s solo debut under the alias Clara Mondshine is a brilliant example of early ambient music born out of the 70’s Berlin School movement, an offshoot of […]
Deutsche Wertarbeit is the brilliant and lone solo release by Dorothea Raukes, ex-singer of the prog-rock group Streetmark, and one of very few female artists operating in the […]
When Bernard Wright released his debut album ‘Nard in 1981, he was only 18 years old. The only son of Roberta Flack had generated quite a bit of […]
The first release on the legendary On-U Sound label featuring members of The Slits, The Pop Group, Roots Radics, Aswad, Raincoats and Flying Lizards, The New Age Steppers […]
A highly underrated lovers rock classic. Bassist George Oban formed “Motion” to explore his own unique musical ideas after leaving the legendary UK reggae group Aswad. His departure […]
A costly vinyl rarity until 2018 when Frederiksberg Records released a reissue, Goodbyes and Beginnings is a cult classic that sounds like the lovechild of 60’s folk and […]
Though released to little fanfare in 1981, like all bizarre and wonderful records Point of View has gained an underground following over the years, with record collectors spending […]
Recorded in just 5 hours on a four-track recorder purchased from illustrious producer Bill Nelson and later overdubbed with drummer and percussionist Bruce Mitchell, Durutti Column’s second and […]
A timeless masterpiece by Simon Jeffes’ Penguin Cafe Orchestra. PCO’s sound is difficult to categorize but perhaps best summed up as a mishmash of Jeffes’ eclectic influences – […]
One of the all time great instrumental dub albums, East of the River Nile ticks all the boxes… It was recorded at legendary studios Channel One, King Tubby’s, and […]
