Returning to the sphere of the esoteric and unknown, Mort Garson’s second album of occult stylings expands upon the first outing by updating the sonic palette and forgoing […]
USA
The first record to be released under Prince’s newly formed label Paisley Park Records, Around The World In A Day sidesteps the obvious next move of another Purple […]
Bay Area DIY pop duo Loveshadow join up with Dark Entries to release II, their sophomore LP. Anya Prisk and Izaak Schlossman met in Oakland in 2016, bonded […]
That Chan Marshall’s career managed to survive the 1990s intact is something of a miracle. Becoming increasingly visible after her Matador Records debut What Would the Community Think? […]
Crosby, Stills & Nash’s debut album is a Laurel Canyon classic that “ushered in the early ’70s singer-songwriter boom. Yes, this was a group, but it was one […]
In 1982, Horace Andy carried his sweet, sweet falsetto to Brooklyn to work with Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes. Bullwackie had grown up in Trenchtown alongside friends including Alton Ellis, […]
One of the more underrated soft rock groups, Starbuck was formed in Atlanta, Georgia by keyboardist/vocalist/record producer Bruce Blackman and marimba player Bo Wagner. The group’s debut album […]
A classic audiophile record, Steely Dan’s Aja (along with many of their other albums) is often used as the gold standard to test the quality of hi-fi audio […]
Originally released on CD-only in 1996 on the cult Brussels-based label Les Disques Du Crépuscule, Fidelity continues on the downtempo chill-out themes of the group’s final outing on […]
Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson, sound engineers at the legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop, joined bassist David Vorhaus to form the psych-pop outfit White Noise. In 1969, the group […]
Discovered by the St. Louis-based Paradise is a Frequency crew, “Bob Siebert’s 1983 album Six Lyric Pieces is the kind of record that’s been flipped by for years. […]
Part of Jazzman’s limited Holy Grail’ series, LaVice And Company’s Two Sisters From Bagdad is a legendary lost Detroit album of jazz and gospel infused funky soul. Originally […]
E.S.P. is the debut album from Miles’ “Second Great Quintet” which featured Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, and a young Herbie Hancock. The album featured Miles’ muse […]
Spring is the lone album by the 1970s pop music duo American Spring made up of sisters Diane Rovell and Marilyn Rovell Wilson, who was married to Brian […]
For the last 15 years, Baba Stlitz has primarily been known as an electronic artist, but with his 2022 tape release Baba Stiltz in LA, he turned to the […]
Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell’s music to be released after his death in 1992. Originally released in 1993 on Point Music, it marked the […]
B.J. Cole was the premier session steel guitarist for many English artists and groups during the late ’60s, ’70s, and beyond including Scott Walker, Marc Bolan, Björk and […]
…Theoretically is a masterpiece duo album from two NYC avant-garde jazz musicians at the top of their game. Bill Frisell lays down layers of gorgeous and intricate ambient guitar […]
I’m Just A Prisoner is the debut album from Candi Station aka the first lady of southern soul. Born in 1940 in Alabama, Candi made a name for […]
Purelink has quickly established themselves as prominent figures in the ever-expanding world of ambient and sound design. Signs, the group’s fifth release, finds them stripping back a bit more, […]
A companion album to Michael Bierylo’s cult classic solo debut Lifeline, which was featured in the “Organic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Cloud Chorus adds […]
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 […]
Futuristic electronic pop of the highest order, Natural Wonder Beauty Concept, a new project from Ana Roxanne and DJ Python (Brian Piñeyro), draws from a shared love of melancholic […]
The Crusaders were a prolific jazz group popular in the early 1970s that released over 40 albums. Primarily a sextet comprised of Joe Sample (piano), Wilton Felder (tenor […]
A collection of great tracks from the legendary spiritual / free jazz vocalist Leon Thomas. Thomas is known for his unique ululating singing style which combined scat singing, […]
In Akron, Ohio, four friends get together every Tuesday with gas station snacks and various instruments to see where the night takes them. They call themselves Lemon Quartet […]
The Cyrkle was a short-lived American rock-n-roll band in the ’60s best known for their #2 Billboard chart hit “Red Rubber Ball” and touring with the Beatles on […]
Lonnie Liston Smith: “’Astral Travelling’ (1971) was the first time I played an Electric Piano! Before that, I only played the Grand Piano. I met Pharoah Sanders in […]
A late night favorite for David Mancuso’s legendary Loft parties, Listen To The Buddha is an underrated psychedelic soul, reggae, and disco album from ’70s cult rock band […]
The stars align once again from trio Moroder, Bellotte, and Summer for Donna’s fourth album Four Seasons of Love. A perfect concoction of futuristic synthesizers, unforgettable vocals, and […]
A bargain bin classic and favorite from Love Injection’s Paul & Barbie, The Alan Parsons Project I Robot was inspired by Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi Robot trilogy which explored philosophical […]
Kyoko Takenaka + Tomoki Sanders have created an auditory environment that brings forth all the emotions of what it means to be uniquely yourself. Kyoko Takenaka: “Thats what […]
Experimental guitarist David Torn rounds up an all-star cast of experimentalists on his second album from Manfred Eicher’s ECM Records. Cloud About Mercury is a masterful fusion album […]
An underrated house compilation, Black Havana was released in 1989 on Capitol Records with executive production from Kenny Ortiz (who co-produced that amazing La Rue record). The compilation […]
William Earl “Bootsy” Collins, of course, needs little introduction. “Bootzilla” aka “The Funky Tooth Fairy” aka “Casper the Funky Ghost” is undoubtably one of the greatest and most […]
The Main Ingredient was a Harlem based soul group composed of lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Panama-born Tony Silvester. They got their name came from […]
“New Orleans – birthplace of the jazz tradition. April 6, 1943 – Aries, symbol of the creative spirit; dynamic, intense; agent for change. Appropriate beginnings for an artist […]
Isis was a pioneering all-female rock band from New York formed in 1972 by Carol MacDonald (vocals/guitar) and Ginger Bianco (drums), former members of 1960s rock band Goldie […]
Split into two halves, John Fahey’s Requia kicks off with three gorgeous acoustic “requiems” for bluesmen that inspired the Washington, D.C. born guitarist. Side 2 is an entirely […]
Pioneering Canadian Cree musician and social activist Buffy Sainte-Marie presents her most ambitious work yet on her sixth studio album Illuminations. The first-ever album with vocals processed through a […]
Building upon his previous large-group project, Attica Blues, avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp brings together gospel singers, big bands, quintets, sextets, and chamber orchestras on The Cry of […]
Santa Cruz’s Smiling C and celebrated selector Charles Balsey (curator of the excellent Club Meduse comps) team up for America Dream Reserve, an hour-long Casio-powered journey through lo-fi Americana, […]
The other Herb Alpert bargain bin classic, Keep Your Eye on Me is the trumpet legend’s ’80s comeback and essentially a Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis record. Feeling […]
When Cincinnati-based soul group The 24-Carat Black released their debut in 1973, the album struggled to find its place in the market and didn’t achieve commercial success. However, […]
One of the first rock bands to tour using synthesizers, Lothar And The Hand People created trippy psychedelic music using the Moog synthesizer and theremin. Featured in the […]
New Values is iconic Stooges’ frontman Iggy Pop’s third album as a solo act and his first without any involvement from David Bowie. The supporting cast includes Tangerine […]
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 […]
An underground hip-hop masterpiece from the ’00s, The Cold Vein is the debut album from Harlem-based duo Cannibal Ox, produced by Company Flow’s El-P (later Run the Jewels). […]
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 […]
Legendary jazz pianist, lyricist, producer, and author Ben Sidran is a name more should know. The co-writer of Steve Miller’s “Space Cowboy” and host of National Public Radio’s […]
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 […]
Formed in 1976 by the great drummer Norman Connors, Aquarian Dream brought together a collective of talented musicians who effortlessly blended soul, funk, jazz, and disco to create […]
Selected by Discotchari: “A staple among both Armenian and jazz collectors, this album reflects the musical magic brewing at the turn of the decade. It is the product […]
By far the most sampled female artist of all time, Lyn Collins was discovered by James Brown after he heard a demo recording of her powerful and commanding […]
Northern Song is the first of many classic ECM albums from Minneapolis based guitarist Steve Tibbetts and percussionist Marc Anderson. Recorded over the course of three days in […]
Al B. Sure! got his start in 1987 when he was handpicked by Quincy Jones as the winner of the Sony Innovators Award, an annual talent showcase for […]
When two musical geniuses like Stanley Clarke and George Duke come together, magic happens. The highly anticipated sophomore album from the two legends who made their names in […]
A seminal ’70s soul album, Back Stabbers not only solidified The O’Jays’ place in soul music history, but also helped define the Philadelphia Sound. With silky vocal harmonies […]
A heavily underrated bargain bin jam, Bill Wolfer’s debut album Wolf is an unexpected hit featuring some of the greatest artists to ever do it including Stevie Wonder, […]
The first album featured in Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Return To Forever is a masterpiece and essential listen from the great jazz pianist Chick Corea. The […]
Released on the aptly titled Coney Dog Records, Michigan Meltdown is a compilation of rare Michigan garage, psychedelic, and space rock from little-known bands released mostly on private […]
The first track on the Chicago bassist and bandleader Joshua Abrams-led Natural Information Society big band opens with rhythm: Abrams thrumming his double-bass strings while percussionists Hamid Drake […]
Doug Lucas moved from Arkansas to Europe in 1968 and would go on to release his first solo record in 1976. He played in the ethnic Africa-orientated jazz […]
In the mid-1970s the disco movement was in full swing. Amidst this musical revolution, Cloud One, a studio project helmed by legendary producer Patrick Adams, released their first […]
Faze-O was a mellow funk group that emerged in the late ’70s from Dayton, Ohio. Produced by Clarence Satchell of the Ohio Players, their 1977 debut album Riding […]
New York vocalist Saundra Hewitt, also known as Sandy, released her one and only album in 1976 on the Japanese label Discomate. While this is Saundra’s only solo […]
Chicago-born singer-songwriter Euegene Record released his first solo album titled The Eugene Record in 1977 showcasing his impressive range and musicality. The album was recorded after Record’s departure […]
Dr. John’s seventh studio album In The Right Place features a number of classic tracks, including the hit single “Right Place Wrong Time,” which is one of the […]
Featured on Chee Shimizu’s Organic Music channel, Himalayan Afternoon is a collection of ethno-new age music by Topanga Canyon based guitarist Gregory Simon. The album is one of […]
Dynasty’s second album Adventures In The Land Of Music is a ’80s R&B and funk classic filled with catchy hooks, danceable rhythms, and strong vocal performances. The album […]
Fibonacci ambient from Los Angeles based engineer and synthesizer player Dan Morehouse. “Patterns of Music and Nature: Artists seek to reproduce the spatial forms of nature that most […]
Active in the 1970s, Allspice was a funk/soul band from Hartford, Connecticut composed of nine members, including five vocalists and a horn section. Their self-titled debut album was […]
Azar Lawrence’s third solo album People Moving was released in 1976 on Prestige Records. The album features Lawrence on tenor, alto and soprano saxophone alongside a group of […]
Miroslav Vitous is probably most well-known for his years as a founding member of seminal fusion group Weather Report. The Czech acoustic bass player and composer’s musical output […]
Produced by Bill Laswell and Sonny Sharrock, Ask the Ages was guitarist Sharrock’s final studio album before his passing in 1994. It’s a wonder of tightly wound power […]
Produced by On-U Sound’s Adrian Sherwood, Ministry’s sophomore album Twitch moves away from the synth-pop sound of the group’s debut and into the heavy, industrial sound they would […]
Defying easy categorization, the sound that New York band 75 Dollar Bill creates on their already-classic 2019 double LP I Was Real mixes West African-inspired grooves and guitar […]
Greg Perry had a highly successful career writing and producing hits for other artists including Chairmen of the Board, Freda Payne, and his wife Edna Wright, the lead […]
Full Moon is a nine track soul album featuring the “ultimate morning song” A3 “Changin’” that was played at legendary NYC parties like the Loft and Paradise Garage. […]
Committing to and supporting the music of Makaya McCraven while he’s still in his thirties feels like both a no-brainer – nobody’s currently making better jazz records – […]
Classify under bargain bin progressive rock albums that are actually good – Go features the bizarre international “supergroup” of experimental Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamashta, UK blues rock singer […]
Beyond the Willow Tree traces the early recordings of singer, songwriter, and cardiologist Cleveland Francis. During a time when the music industry was very much segregated (“If you […]
Free jazz improvisation and organic music meets electro-acoustic composition techniques and synthesizers on Don Cherry and Jon Appleton’s first collaboration, the aptly titled Human Music. Released on Bob […]
Bargain bin spiritual jazz isn’t something that pops up very often and rarely is it actually good… Illuminations features probably one of the strangest musical pairings we’ve come […]
For much of the 1980s and 1990s, volume was the go-to signifier for musical rebellion. Louder and faster had been accepted as the only sonic way to express […]
One of the important and influential figures in American electronic music and a contemporary of Art of Noise, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Arthur Baker, Kraftwerk, and Afrika Bambaataa, Brooklyn-born […]
Anita Baker is pure elegance and a powerhouse vocalist best known for her quiet storm work in the ’80s. Her path to stardom wasn’t exactly smooth… At 16, […]
In certain electronic music circles, 2022 felt like the year of downtempo and trip-hop. The slow, chilled-out breaks and ambient textures seemed to perfectly capture that post-pandemic mood […]
The debut album by Lifted, an ever-shifting music ensemble anchored by Andrew Field-Pickering (Max D) and Matt Papich, is not an easily definable sound. With a wide net […]
Released more than a decade before the great New York shop of the same name opened its doors, Other Music was a Bay Area group of percussionists and […]
Los Angeles native Micheal Wycoff started his musical journey at just three years old playing piano at home and the church close by. Hearing Donny Hathaway’s voice inspired […]
Guitarist, singer and songwriter Randy California was a founding member of Topanga Canyon psychedelic rock band Spirit. Following the group’s breakup in 1971, California spent most of his […]
Cate Kennan’s first solo record comes by way of the Los Angeles-based label Post Present Medium. Dreamy, contemplative, and full of mystery, the album’s 12 vignettes build a […]
One of Queens’ finest, Tom Browne recorded his album Love Approach in 1980 featuring the smash hit “Funkin For Jamaica(N.Y.)” which charted number one on the US Billboard […]
Junior Delahaye’s Showcase is a classic and sought after lovers rock album from Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes’ Bronx-based Wackies label. Delahaye actualy worked as an engineer for Wackie’s and […]
O’Donel Levy was a blues/funk/jazz guitarist and the brother of session drummer Stafford Levy. Born and raised in Baltimore, Levy studied music at the Peabody Institute at John […]
Ronnie Laws is the fifth of eight children in the deeply talented Laws family and the brother of flutist Hubert Laws and vocalist sisters Debra Laws & Eloise […]
Released a few months after Gram Parsons died of an overdose at the Joshua Tree Hotel in late 1973, Grievous Angel is the Flying Burrito Bros. founder’s second […]
Don “Minister of Funk” Blackman had an illustrious musical career starting when he was only 15 years old with Charles McPherson, who was his neighbor growing up in […]
Sunshine Man is a classic jazz-funk album from saxophonist and flutist Harold Alexander. Released on Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman imprint, the album “exists somewhere in the space between […]
One of the all time great duet parings in the history of R&B, Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack released two classic albums together in the ’70s. The pair […]
“Tim had grown up in Oregon, been a marine, come to New York City to learn acting but hadn’t like the school and quit it, hung around Greenwich […]
The sophomore release for Portland-based artist Patricia Wolf, See-Through weaves together a balmy sonic chamber that’s womblike. The release is transportive, and each track acts as a separate […]
“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 […]
Black Talk!, recorded in 1970 by one of the most renowned jazz recording engineers Rudy Van Gelder, is the killer debut album from organist/reed player Charles Earland. Earland grew […]
Part two of the Mwandishi trilogy, Crossings further expands on the free jazz group’s sound with the introduction of Patrick Gleeson’s psychedelic electronics. As the only non-black member, […]
With a four-octave vocal range and multiple Grammy’s to her name, Deniece Williams is one of the greatest soul singers of her time. Williams started out as a […]
Breezy Hawaiian jazz from local alto sax legend Gabe Baltazar, who played with the Stan Kenton Orchestra backing singers such as Nat King Cole, Jean Turner, and Ann […]
Ambient pioneer Steve Roach teams up with Santana percussion virtuoso Michael Shrieve and ECM Records’ David Torn on this classic ’80s ambient / new age album. Quite a […]
The lost Ernest Hood album recorded between 1972 and 1982 in Western Oregon (the same era as his proto-ambient cult classic Neighborhoods), Back To The Woodlands is more zither, […]
Luis Gasca’s For Those Who Chant is a spaced out Latin jazz classic! Some call this the forgotten Santana album because it features more than half of Santana […]
Bluejeans & Moonbeams is the ninth studio album by the enigmatic singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, and his Magic Band, recorded […]
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 […]
Jeannie Reynolds was the sister of L.J. Reynolds, a member of The Dramatics. Though her career wasn’t as significant in comparison to her brother’s, Jeannie made some truly […]
Soothing Sounds for Baby (1962) is a three-volume set of ambient electronic music by American composer, musician, and inventor Raymond Scott. Originally intended to lull infants to sleep, […]
Building on the trippy, psychedelics inspired prog rock of his previous album, the wizard Todd Rundgren delivers another impossibly creative and structurally daring double LP filled with pop […]
David Ruffin is best known for being in The Temptations but his solo career is nothing to overlook. Raised by a baptist minister, David intended to follow in […]
L.J. Reynolds started his recording career at the age of 11 and didn’t stop after that. He was in a band with some family members called The Relations, […]
Queen of the avant-garde Laurie Anderson teams up with iconic bass maestro / producer Bill Laswell on her classic second studio album Mister Heartbreak. As usual with Anderson’s […]
Hard bop meets soul-jazz, calypso, and bossa on Blue Mitchell’s underrated self-titled album (alternatively titled “Soul Village”) on Mainstream Records. While not quite a household name, Richard Allen […]
One of our favorite deadstock finds of the year, Myles Davis and Ray Herrmann’s Hybrid Vigor is private press gold from two virtually unknown musicians from Stamford who met […]
McCoy Tyner’s saxophonist and early Pan Afrikan Arkestra member Azar Lawrence steps confidently into the mid ’80s with Shadow Dancing, his first solo album in almost a decade […]
Played at the Paradise Garage by Larry Levan, Aretha Franklin’s “Jump To It” is an instant party starter produced by Luther Vandross with his songwriting partner Marcus Miller. […]
Another masterpiece from David Axelrod, Seriously Deep is one of the rarer records from the multi-talented musician, producer, composer, arranger’s heavily sampled catalog. As usual with Axelrod albums, […]
Played by our good friend Victor Rodriguez at last summer’s listening sessions… Electric Byrd is the great Howard University educator/trumpeter’s most psychedelic outing obviously influenced by Miles Davis’ […]
The album that introduced Luther Vandross to the world, Glow of Love is the classic debut album by Change, an Italian-American post-disco group formed in Bologna by businessman […]
Arranged and produced by the great Charles Stepney (The Dells, Ramsey Lewis, Earth Wind & Fire), The Rotary Connection was a Chicago-based acid rock meets soul jazz group […]
Compiled by Audika Records, Love is Overtaking Me collects previously unreleased folk, pop, and country demos and home recordings from the archives of the late great American cellist, […]
One of the most influential techno records ever made, Neptune’s Lair, the debut album by the mysterious Detroit electro-techno outfit Drexciya followed a series of groundbreaking releases on […]
MFSB, which stands for Mother Father Sister Brother, was the studio band for Philadelphia International Records. The collective of over 30 musicians worked closely with production duo Gamble […]
Drummer/Keyboardist Jack DeJohnette delivers his trippiest solo outing to date on cult classic Sorcery with an all-star cast including Headhunters / Mwandishi legend Bennie Maupin, Bitches Brew bass […]
Our friends from Forager Records continue their streak of impeccably curated compilations with Sky Dust Drifter “a cosmic medley of sun-soaked AOR, psychedelic folk, and soft rock.” Collected […]
“One of the great lost albums of the last decade,” On The Way To The Laughing Light Of Plenty by The Naturals aka Rub’n’Tug’s Thomas Bullock and artist/producer […]
It’s happening after Midnight in a small, lonely L.A. studio. Nashville nixed with a vengeance as two old friends pick and sing of Country/Western things – Universal in […]
Another bargain bin classic, The Electric Eclectics Of Dick Hyman is one of the great early Moog synthesizer records following the groundbreaking instrument’s use at the Monterrey Pop […]
The Late Great Townes Van Zandt is the last album the legendary country singer would release on independent label Poppy Records. The album includes Townes Van Zandt’s signature […]
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 […]
An essential album from the great Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson, Bridges is the first from the duo to feature production assistance and synthesizer programming from Malcolm Cecil […]
“Pre-dotcom electro-funk from the long-running S.F. collective New World Music” reissued by the great Numero Group. The three tracks featured here were compiled from the group’s highly sought […]
Drummer Art Blakey expands his legendary Jazz Messengers group to a sextet for the first time on this 1961 classic album on Impulse! The album features a young […]
Released in 2020 and pressed on vinyl in 2021, Bless the Mad aka Ibrahem Hasan and Matthew Rivera’s self-titled debut is a tribute to Chicago and its rich […]
Much like the Georgio Moroder / Donna Summer connection, legendary “Queen of Disco” Sylvester meets hi-NRG pioneer Patrick Cowley on proto-techno classic “I Need Somebody to Love Tonight.” […]
A glam rock classic, Sparks’ third album Kimono My House broke the band through to the mainstream, peaking at No. 4 in the UK. The two Japanese women […]
Meditative, ambient minimalism from influential new age composer Steve Roach… “Floating like the breath of a sleeping child, Steve Roach’s third recording of quiet music evokes the high, […]
One of the earliest Impulse! records and one of Max Roach’s finest, Percussion Bitter Sweet takes on the struggles of the early ’60s civil rights movement with powerful, […]
Just in time for summer, we have a beautiful new full-length from the holy father of deep house via his own Alleviated imprint. Larry Heard’s fifth release under […]
An outlet for emerging local acts in Hawaii, KKUA’s four volume Home Grown series launched and propelled the careers of acts like Nohelani Cypriano, Cecilio & Kapono, Olomana, […]
LA neighbors and sonic composers Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Emile Mosseri have introduced a gorgeous collaborative record that fuses their dreamy melodies and warm textures to create a […]
DIY electro-acoustic experiments from Seattle based composer Kerry Leimer. Produced with a Minimoog, an Oberheim module, piano and home-made electric guitar on two TEAC 3340 4-track machines, the […]
Mostly piano, vocals, efx and unconscious arrangements make up Laila Sakini’s “Vivienne” on Total Stasis. It asks, what if things were different? Tender symbols – flowers, butterflies, potion […]
One of the great classics of exotica, a style of easy listening music that emerged in the mid ’50s alongside tiki culture blending jazz, swing, latin music, psychedelia, […]
American avant-garde artist, filmmaker, composer Tony Conrad’s first and only musical release for many years, Outside the Dream Syndicate is one of the great recordings of American minimalism […]
The first release on our label ISC Hi-Fi Selects, Live at Sound City is an instrumental collaboration between bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Blake Mills, and LA-based saxophonist Sam […]
One of the most popular Vietnam protest songs from the 1960s… “I wrote “Fixin’ to Die Rag” in summer of 1965 after I had been discharged from the […]
If you’ve ever talked to a Deadhead for even 5 minutes you’ll know that it’s all about the live shows and recordings. On Anthem Of The Sun, band […]
Anthony Naples has been an important figure in the NYC dance community for the past decade, first with the label Proibito (2013-2017) and later by co-founding Incensio. Through […]
Smoke Point is L.A.-based artist-musicians Brian Foote (Peak Oil, Leech, Kranky) and Sage Caswell (Spring Theory), and their eponymous first album vibes like the soundtrack to such ’90s […]
The debut album by sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche from Park Ridge, New Jersey is a cult classic folk rock album produced by King Crimson’s Robert Fripp. […]
Ethereal electronic minimalism from the great Italian architect / music installation & soundtrack master Piero Milesi. The Nuclear Observatory Of Mr. Nanof is a collection of soundtrack compositions […]
The underrated sophomore release from new age composer Jordan De La Sierra, Valentine Eleven “explored notions of new biology, quantum alchemy, modern chemistry, and relativity, all with a […]
“There is joy laced with confidence in his music, and sadness, or pathos, that is as much connected to the Blues as it to the huge yearning of […]
Amsterdam’s Music From Memory continues their streak of breaking exciting new artists with this debut LP by Bay Area-based duo Loveshadow. With Anya Prisk on vocals + songwriting […]
The second act of David Axelrod’s musical interpretations of William Blake’s epic Songs of Innocence and of Experience pulls the distorted rock guitar back a tad in favor […]
The debut release by the legendary Bill Evans Trio, Everybody Digs Bill Evans, follows a 27 month break since Evans’ first release, a solo effort titled New Jazz […]
Philadelphia-based electronic artist Ulla Strauss follows up 2019’s excellent Quiet Time Tapes release with 8 tracks of fuzzy, smudged out ambient tracks. Deep and melancholic textures seemingly suspend […]
LS: How would you describe your music? LS: I wouldn’t. People often ask me to do that, and it seems impossible. Music isn’t verbal or conceptual. I try […]
The very first album to fully replace drummers with a drum machine, Timmy Thomas’ Why Can’t We Live Together stands as one of the most remarkable soul albums […]
Short-lived but influential to the 1970’s punk/new wave movement, The Modern Lovers were signed to Warner Bros. but broke up before any album was recorded. Their “debut” was […]
Released on one of our favorite local labels, Motion Ward, Pontiac Streator’s Triz is a modern ambient stunner that seems to sit perfectly between the warm organic soundscapes […]
One of the best kept secrets of the ’60s folk scene, singer-songwriter Fred Neil Never was never quite comfortable with the music industry and would eventually walk away […]
One of the all-time jazz classics and an essential listen, Journey In Satchidananda continues Alice Coltrane’s spiritual connection with Pharoah Sanders. From Alice herself in the liner notes: […]
A massively underrated release from the unsung American post-experimental composer Daniel Lentz, On the Leopard Altar shines bright with voices, digital keyboards, and tuned wineglasses. While Lentz’s music […]
Released in the same year and in a similar echelon of visionary, conscious soul music as Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, Roots is the somewhat underrated second solo […]
A truly spectacular pairing between drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the great Thelonious Monk. The album is presented in “Atlantic High Fidelity” and the first to featuring […]
Sandy Bull’s cult classic debut album Fantasias For Guitar And Banjo opens with the 22-minute long epic “Blend,” which some consider one of the greatest acoustic guitar tracks […]
A definitive moment in the storied and still-ongoing career of the great Pharoah Sanders, Karma honored John Coltrane’s spiritual jazz legacy while also pushing the movement forward. The […]
After two successful albums with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Joe Farrell, and her husband Airto Moreira as Return to Forever, Flora Purim launched her solo career on New […]
“Just mix the music with the motion and you will have a dance explosion. Just mix the motion with the music, that’s the only way to do it.” […]
The inaugural release by cult new age label Windham Hill is also the debut album by its founder, William Ackerman. In Search of the Turtle’s Naval transformed Ackerman from […]
Part of the ’80s New York avant-garde scene, multi-instrumentalist Rhys Chatham studied under electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick and minimalist composer La Monte Young. Chatham’s second album Die […]
“The music on this record is my attempt to explore and further the American acoustic guitar. I have four sources of the music ideas presented here: Bulgarian music […]
Featured in Numero Group’s Nu Leaf smooth jazz compilation, George Shaw’s Encounters is an underrated jazz album that you probably wouldn’t pick out of the stacks based on […]
Originally released in 1997 on independent UK label Soul Static Sound, Echoes is ex-Tortoise member Ken Brown’s final release under the short-lived Directions moniker. Much like Tortoise’s music, […]
Barton Smith’s gorgeous “one-person orchestra” tape compositions using a mixture of acoustic, electronic, and found instruments. While clearly experimental in approach, the music was actually composed with the […]
Featured in Shotaro Matsumoto’s Walearic Disc Guide, Comme Des Garçons Volume One is, like its title suggests, a commissioned piece for the luxury Japanese clothing brand. While this may […]
The first release on Just Us, a shop and label from Detroit’s Bill Spencer and San Francisco’s Izaak Schlossman (Loveshadow), is an absolute belter of a psych-jazz album, […]
“A fairly essential recording from the Canterbury axis of early ’70s British progressive rock…” Avant-garde saxophonist Lol Coxhill meets blues pianist Steve Miller (not that one) for a […]
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 […]
Pino Palladino’s debut studio LP Notes with Attachments is a collaboration with producer, multi-instrumentalist and guitar maestro Blake Mills. A mixture of West African, Cuban, jazz, funk, and […]
Featured in the “Organic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Life Line by Michael Bierylo is a simple but gorgeous new age guitar album that seems […]
Recorded just a few hours outside of Los Angeles in the small town of Idyllwild, Linger Lane captures the spirit of the California mountains with organic marimbas, echo […]
A cult hero from the Louisiana swamps, Bobby Charles (b. Robert Charles Guidry) pioneered the genre known as “swamp rock.” The singer-songwriter played country and Cajun music from […]
Free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman returns to his original (and arguably best) lineup with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins on 1972’s Science Fiction. The music is […]
Selected by the great Jeff Parker in our 5 Selects feature, Marley Marl’s In Control, Volume 1 is the debut studio album by “the greatest sampling producer and one […]
Terry Riley’s triumphant return to CBS over a decade after 1969’s A Rainbow In Curved Air, Shri Camel is a meditative masterwork blending the feeling of eastern music […]
Leroy Hutson might not be a household name, but you might’ve heard his work through another great soul singer, Donny Hathaway. Hutson was Hathaway’s roommate at Howard University […]
“Organic electronic music” might sound like an oxymoron, but Bay Area duo Motoko & Myers produce just that on their sophomore album Colocate, released on Cincinnati-based label Soda Gong. […]
“There was a strange existentialness to her; she was at once both cool and warm and her style of singing stretched words to the point where they were […]
Recorded, produced, and finished in just two weeks, The Modern Dance by Cleveland-based band Pere Ubu is a pioneering post-punk classic that “pushed music into the 80’s” alongside […]
RAMP aka Roy Ayers Music Productions was a soul/jazz group led by the great vibes player widely known for his composition “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.” The group’s lone […]
The first of three Talking Heads albums produced by Brian Eno, More Songs About Buildings And Food expanded on the group’s rhythmic sensibilities with more danceable grooves. The […]
A favorite from the listening bar, Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun)‘s title is taken from verse 18 of Surat al-Baqarah in the Qur’an. “Deaf, dumb and blind […]
The story goes that Vince and Bola owe the Sheraton Hotels a bit of credit for their magical union… Bola Sete was first discovered by a Sheraton executive, […]
Featured on NPR Classical 50, a weekly series from NPR recommending “50 essential recordings for everyone from first-timers to fanatics,” Paul Jacobs’ performance of Preludes For Piano sounds […]
Gil Scott-Heron was barely twenty-one years old when he signed a record deal with legendary Impulse! producer Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman imprint. Thiele had gotten a hold of […]
The full explanation of how this seminal interactive record was made is printed on the original LP cover, but to shorten it: Behrman paired live instruments and players […]
Originally released with a waving red, white, and blue flag on the cover, Sly & the Family Stone’s essential classic There’s a Riot Goin’ On speaks to a […]
Featuring a classic breakbeat that’s been used by Madlib, Big Daddy Kane, Rodney P, The D.O.C, Pete Rock, and countless others, Foster Sylvers is the self-titled debut LP […]
Part of a trio of privately released albums on David Oliver’s own Damiana Records, Hope For La Roo is a gorgeous collection of minimal jazz compositions centered around […]
“I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas […]
Born into New Orleans blues and raised on Cambridge folk, Chris “Smither is an American original – a product of the musical melting pot and one of the […]
A groundbreaking work that established the name of the “new music,” Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz was so controversial that Downbeat magazine had to feature a double-review of the […]
One of the great masterpieces of the late 60’s psychedelic rock scene in Los Angeles, Arthur Lee and Love’s Forever Changes is a harrowing look into the end […]
Prior to releasing her excellent debut Cult Survivor, Sofie Fatouretchi, one of the original crew of Boiler Room, put together a 24-track compilation of the best in underground […]
Gene Clark was a founding member of the legendary country-folk-rock band The Byrds. His story is a bit of a sad one as his songwriting talent and heavy […]
The 3 Pieces are Andre Richardson, Jerry Wilder, and Lincoln Ross, three Howard University students discovered by Donald Byrd while they attended one of Byrd’s classes. They released […]
The sole album by Joseph Byrd’s The United States Of America is a New York avant-garde classic that pulls influences from both the Fluxus and hippie movements of […]
William Howard “Monk” Montgomery is widely known as the man who “de-bastardized the Fender bass.” Monk worked with Lionel Hampton’s orchestra in the early 50’s and legitimized the […]
The lone solo LP from guitarist / electro-acoustic composer, producer, and mastering engineer Scott Fraser, Architecture contains an endearing mix of chamber music, bird sounds, santur, experimental electronics, […]
One of the great Black Jazz albums in “the key of the black power movement,” Spirit of the New Land showcases pianist Doug Carn’s innovative songwriting along with the […]
Minneapolis Genius is one of the earliest Prince recordings. Released in 1985 but actually recorded in 1977 when Prince was just a teenager, the album showcases the raw […]
An indie new age classic that went platinum, Ray Lynch’s Deep Breakfast melds classical baroque technique with cosmic new age sounds. You’d think with those two genres the […]
Marnie Weber’s Songs Hurt Me is a seminal performance art meets post-punk album from 80’s Los Angeles. A multifaceted artist, Marnie cut her teeth in Los Angeles’s punk […]
“Jaco is a phenomenon. He is able to make sounds on the bass that are a total surprise to the sensibilities. Not only single notes, but chords, harmonics, […]
One of the great underrated Miles albums, Get Up With It pushes forward with the full force, sophistication, groove, and beautiful chaos of Miles’ electrified wah-wah trumpet and […]
Is Los Angeles balearic? The flat streets of the San Fernando Valley might seem a far cry from the beaches of Ibiza and yet – a strange connection […]
One of the early pioneers of boogie and R&B, Kashif (born Michael Jones) cut his teeth with 70’s funk group B.T. Express and later made a name for […]
Psych folk cult hero Linda Perhacs has had an interesting career, to say the least. After releasing her debut Parallelograms in 1970, Perhacs would become a full-time dental […]
Part of New York’s underground punk scene in the late 70’s alongside Blondie, Velvet Underground, The Ramones, etc. Tom Verlaine and Television managed to both fit within and […]
A perfectly sequenced “post-modern mixtape of 12 micro-genres” created by The Numero Group’s Ken Shipley, Reach takes listeners through morning bird songs, afternoon new age, evening soul jazz, […]
Master of the “wah wah” pedal, Melvin Ragin aka guitarist Wah Wah Watson served in the Motown house band throughout the 70’s and has played on albums by […]
From the liner notes: “When Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause began to record for Warner Brothers in the late 1960s, they were already electronic music pioneers. They’d been […]
While not a household name, you’ve likely heard Michael White’s avant-garde violin playing on spiritual jazz classics like Pharoah Sanders’ Thembi, John Coltrane’s Infinity, and Joe Henderson & Alice […]
Produced by the great Norman Connors, Back For More is the major label solo debut of Al Johnson from Washington D.C. soul group the Unifics. Johnson had spent […]
Wamdue Kids is the short-lived house music project by three guys named Chris – Brann, Clarke, and Udoh. The Atlanta based trio was first discovered in 1995 by […]
We missed this classic in our Davida albums feature so here it is in the collection… One of the great left field country albums of the 60’s, Nancy […]
Composed entirely with his own voice, Todd Rundgren’s A Cappella features overdubbing techniques with the legendary E-mu Emulator. The power of sampling is in full effect with Rundgren’s […]
This album needs little introduction… Life on Mars is a space-funk classic from the oft-sampled synthesizer guru Dexter Wansel. Inspired by David Bowie’s “Is There Life on Mars?”, […]
Featured in the “Experimental” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Desert Equations: Azax Attra was released in 1986 on legendary Belgium label Crammed Disc’s “Made to […]
An underrated dollar bin soul-jazz find, Formerly Of The Harlettes is the lone album by former Bette Midler backup singers Sharon Redd, Ula Hedwig, and Charlotte Crossley. The […]
A wild fusion of genres (classical, blues, rock, jazz, comedy) in classic Zappa style, One Size Fits All opens with the wonderfully complex “Inca Roads” which features George […]
One of the most underrated LA albums of the last decade in our opinion, No World is the debut album by inc., formerly Teen Inc., aka brothers Andrew […]
Included in our “Beyond the World of Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi” feature, Pinnacle by Mwandishi bassist Buster Williams is a continuation of Mwandishi, but perhaps in spirit only. Mwandishi […]
Tribal electro ambient jazz composed as the soundtrack for a Japanese TV documentary “Tadayuki Naito Zebra” about the life of a zebra… What’s more to say? Jack DeJohnette […]
When Jeff Parker, guitarist of influential Chicago band Tortoise, joined us this past summer for a dedicated listening session, it was clear that his musical influences ran deep […]
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 […]
Here’s an interesting one… Two young musical brothers meet the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and create, possibly the first of its kind, Hare Krishna soul / soft […]
Revolutionary spiritual afro jazz from exile… Ndikho Xaba and the Natives self-titled debut is an African jazz holy grail recorded “as a tribute to the struggles of Africans […]
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 […]
New Age flute and saxophone player Paul Horn goes soul/fusion jazz-funk with a collection of choice covers of some of the best Stevie Wonder, David Crosby, Joni Mitchell, […]
One of the unsung heroes of the Laurel Canyon scene, Laura Allan has appeared on albums by Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Carmen, Crosby-Nash, as well as Crosby’s […]
Jazz legend Ramsey Lewis plays Fender Rhodes and Arp synthesizer on his 1974 jazz-funk hit Sun Goddess. The pianist is joined by his former drummer Maurice White, members […]
Transfer Station Blue is a cult classic Berlin School style album recorded by Santana drummer Michael Shrieve, his brother Kevin, and legendary German electronic composer Klaus Schulze. The […]
Nobody can be you, but you! The powerful and positive opener on Steve Arrington’s Hall Of Fame Vol. I contains a classic drum break and was a favorite […]
From the liner notes of The Elusive Bob Lind: “Bob Lind is one of the young poets who have changed the sound and the meaning of America’s popular […]
Released in 1983 and recorded at Mark Freeman’s Battery Sound recording studio, where Arthur Russell operated out of in the early to mid-1980s, Lost Tribe is an essential […]
J.J. Cale might best be known for his tune “Cocaine,” which Eric Clapton famously covered on his Slowhand album, but there’s much more to the singer-songwriter than a […]
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 […]
Moondog 2 is the sixth album by the avant-garde composer Louis Thomas Hardin, AKA the Viking of Sixth avenue, or simply known as – Moondog. Largely self-taught by […]
Techno-Bush is Hugh Masekala and the Medu Art Ensemble’s Afro-futurist vision of South Africa. Protesting through sound and dance, Masekala and crew crafted a futuristic “techno-bush” with a […]
Included on the excellent Aloha Got Soul (Soul, AOR & Disco in Hawai’i 1979-1985) compilation, Lemuria was a jazz-funk and soul group formed by Kirk Thompson, an influential […]
The underrated Bobby Caldwell album, Carry On sees the pop funk soul singer dive into deeper subjects beyond love and simple attraction. A2 “Sunny Hills” almost sounds like […]
A roller disco classic from one of the founding members of the great SoCal jam band War, Lee Oskar’s Before the Rain is a pleasant harmonica funk album with […]
Released on K. Leimer’s Palace of Lights, Marc Barreca’s debut album Twilight is a collection of improvised ambient compositions using techniques and methodologies pioneered by Brian Eno on […]
A landmark album that inspired an entire musical programming format and genre, Smokey Robinson’s A Quiet Storm was a return to form for the influential Motown songwriter and […]
Big thanks to our friend Andrew “Lovefingers” for this gorgeous selection. The Singers Unlimited were a vocal jazz quartet formed by master singer / vocal arranger Gene Puerling. […]
One of the more underrated Prince side projects released on Paisley Park Records, The Family’s self-titled debut is, like many Prince projects, essentially a collection of Prince songs […]
Les McCann’s drum break classic Layers was conceived in his mind long before the tapes were rolling at Joel Dorn’s Regent Sound Studios in New York. With just […]
John Coltrane’s spiritual dedication A Love Supreme is a four movement masterpiece recorded in a single session at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. […]
The great Roland Kirk’s most famous composition, The Inflated Tear is an “awakening and a cry for love” presented in a five-minute package that within it contains traces […]
Bruce Springsteen’s sixth studio album Nebraska is a DIY loner classic released long before the term “bedroom producer” was a thing. The album was recorded with the assistance […]
Undeniably one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever, J Dilla’s influential “rap album without rappers” LP Donuts is now back in stock at Stones Throw. The story of […]
A story gone wrong… Mythical funk goddess Betty Davis’ Nasty Gal was meant to catapult her into superstardom. Instead, it practically ended her career. Davis had just signed […]
One of the most obscure albums to make the Billboard Top 200, Karen Beth’s The Joys of Life is an Acid Archives favorite featuring a gorgeous voice that […]
The last EWF release before the group broke into superstardom with That’s The Way Of The World, Open Our Eyes is a stripped back, jazz, funk and R&B classic […]
Named after a collection of William Blake poems, Song of Innocence is the debut solo album by Capitol Records’ multi-talented musician, producer, composer, arranger David Axelrod. The album […]
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, […]
‘Missa’ is the third release by experimental American composer Daniel Lentz, a true unsung genius of the 80s modern classical age. According to the album’s performance notes, the […]
David Crosby’s solo debut If Only I Could Remember My Name is psychedelic folk-rock perfection from The Byrds / CSNY legend backed by other Laurel Canyon heroes including […]
Produced by the legendary Eumir Deodato, Intimate Connection by New York City–based ensemble Kleeer is a groundbreaking boogie funk masterpiece and roller disco favorite. The album was released […]
The unexpected first time collaborative effort by experimental electronic musicians Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) and Daniel Avery was created remotely across several times zones over several years. […]
An absolute Detroit electro classic – Lifestyles Of The Laptop Café is the last album by Drexciya’s James Stinson before his untimely death in 2002. At the time […]
Compiled by Egon (Now Again) for Stones Throw Records, The Complete Works by Bay Area soul-jazz singer/songwriter Matthew Larkin Cassell comes with a bit of a story. Hip-hop […]
The debut solo LP by The Velvet Underground’s electric viola player John Cale, Vintage Violence is a deeply personal singer-songwriter album by an artist reflecting on his life, […]
Before Mort Garson’s soothing ode to houseplants (the 1976 LP and now cult phenomenon, Plantasia), Garson spent a decade building one of the most varied and bizarre resumés […]
One of the first albums by a female artist to have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, Tracy Chapman’s self-titled debut is an essential listen with humble […]
Music for healing from our good friends at Séance Centre… On Music of the Five Elements, electronic composer Sam McClellan applies the ancient Chinese philosophy of medicine to […]
This oft sampled record by drummer Idris Muhammed is a cinematic jazz funk classic. Opener “Could Heaven Ever Be Like this” is as joyous as its name sounds […]
Undoubtedly the best of the three H.P. Lovecraft albums released in the late 60s / early 70s, H.P. Lovecraft II is a cosmic, West Coast mushroom trip that […]
Released on Island Records’ “Antilles New Directions” sublabel, Bush Dance by master Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos is an upbeat, world fusion record that has made its way onto […]
A perfect record for sunny days, this classic record under Roy Ayers’ Ubiquity umbrella is full of funky anthems. The inaugural track “ Hey, Uh, What You Say […]
Larry Levan. Gwen Guthrie. Sly & Robbie. Wally Badarou. You just can’t beat a team like that; these five artists have together accounted for thousands of classics that […]
Though not quite a household name, Brother Ah (aka Robert Northern) is one of the most decorated names in jazz having played with everyone from Donald Byrd, Dizzy […]
Numero Group has spent the last seventeen years reanimating rare music from all around the globe. One of our all-time favorites is their 2012 ode to the FM […]
The stunning debut by Brazilian guitar phenom Fabiano do Nascimento landed during a big year for Brazilian reissues, and, interestingly enough, found a perfect home on LA-based reissue […]
At the advent of the CD-era when recorded music was headed in a digital direction, William Ackerman’s Windham Hill produced records that were an entirely analog affair. Perhaps […]
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson’s Winter In America was the duo’s first and only release on legendary independent jazz label Strata-East. Praised for its influence on hip-hop and neo […]
A name like Philamore Lincoln would seem enough to intrigue a potential record buyer into a blind buy. Yet Philamore’s lone album, The North Wind Blew South, released […]
A cult classic from Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes’ Bronx-based label, Love Joys’ Lovers Rock Reggae Style is a landmark album mixing conscious roots reggae and soulful lovers rock with […]
Dubbed “one of pop music’s sneakiest masterpieces” due to its low-key but lasting popularity, Donald Fagen’s post-Steely Dan solo debut The Nightlfy is a semi-autobiographical concept album looking […]
Often credited as the “Mother of Hip-hop”, Sylvia Robinson was a seminal blues-turned-soul singer, producer, and writer who released a slew of sultry and sensually charged records in […]
Tommy McGee never got a chance to make it in his day, but this comp by Numero Group has made a classic of McGee’s soulful funk. I’m A […]
From the extended world of Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi… Buddy Terry’s Pure Dynamite seems to be a bit slept-on but we think it ranks with the best of the fusion-leaning […]
An undisputed masterpiece from Lovely Music’s “Blue” Gene Tyranny, here are some words by NY label Unseen Worlds, which recently reissued it for the first time ever last […]
One of our favorite ECM Records bands, Codona features free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry alongside sitar player Collin Walcott and Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos. The band’s name is […]
One of the great holy grails of the 70s, Body, Mind, And Spirit by Harry Whitaker’s Black Renaissance is a soul-jazz masterpiece with plenty of myth and magic […]
With a name like OM, it comes as no surprise that this band has the ability to lull you into a mesmerizing trancelike state. On Advaitic Songs the […]
Leon Thomas might not be a household name in jazz, but you’ve likely heard his voice if you’re a fan of Pharoah Sanders. Thomas was the vocalist and […]
Considered by many to be one of the crowning achievements in the ambient genre, Structures From Silence was a dramatic departure from Roach’s previous heavily sequenced Berlin-school favored […]
Not to be confused with the French electronic duo, Long Island’s Air is a jazz-rock band from the 70’s consisting of four core members – Tom Coppola, John […]
An underrated album from George Duke’s vast catalog, The Aura Will Prevail was released during a time when Duke was experimenting with incorporating R&B vocals into his music. […]
Included in the “cosmic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Paradise Space Shuttle is tenor saxophonist George Adam’s first U.S. release as a bandleader. Adams was […]
You probably know Patrice Rushen from her 1982 hit “Forget Me Nots” and the countless other R&B and disco classics she put out on Elektra in the late […]
J.O.B Orquestra’s Open the Doors to Your Heart is a highly underrated album from the 1970’s New York afro-spiritualist movement that would later become a favorite amongst hip-hop […]
Kevin “Mr. Groove” McCord had his hand in a lot of 70’s and 80’s Detroit records… With almost 300 writing credits, he wrote, performed, or arranged a wide […]
Although not a household name, Austrian pianist Joe Zawinul is known by many jazz fans to have been one of Miles Davis’ secret weapons during his Bitches Brew/ […]
Legendary Motown songwriter Leon Ware’s sensual masterpiece Musical Massage is a soul classic that should honestly be a lot more popular than it is. Some say its failure […]
After finding success in composing hits for other artists in the early 60’s (such as the Monkees’ “Pleasant Valley Sunday”, Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like a) […]
Art Blakey & the Afro Drum Ensemble’s The African Beat is a landmark jazz percussion album. Released in 1962, the album was one of the first to bring […]
We came across this one randomly while digging in a $5 and under bin… Inspired School Of Astral Music is the ambient side project of Portland-based experimental producer […]
Stanley Cowell was a highly influential figure within the jazz community who somehow never broke through to the mainstream despite his long and storied career. Cowell started out […]
Gris-Gris by Dr. John is an invocation of the spirit of Bayou Funk and Louisiana Blues mixed with playful psychedelic rock. What’s most exhilarating is being able to […]
Recorded shortly after Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi band broke up, Love, Love continues right where the group left off with two long tracks of deep, avant-garde fusion. The Mwandishi […]
Kathy Smith began as a fixture around the Los Angeles hippie and folk scene of the 60’s and 70’s, playing regularly at venues such as Paradox, the Troubador, […]
Released on the cult new age label Higher Octave Music, William Aura’s Half Moon Bay is a highly sought after New Age gem that was one of the […]
Originally recorded in 1996 but never officially released due to “creative differences” from their then label, London Records, Sleep’s Dopesmoker first made its way to the public in […]
Celestial Sky is an underrated disco-funk gem by Norman Connors’ Starship Orchestra. Connors is a brilliant composer/producer and one of the more unsung jazz greats even though he’s […]
Craig T. Cooper is an LA-based guitarist who recorded two incredible smooth-jazz influenced funk records in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Both albums contain a slew of […]
To say that Le Noise is one of Neil Young’s of most experimental and underrated records would be an understatement. The record, along with its accompanying live DVD, […]
On Sweetnighter, jazz fusion supergroup Weather Report take a decidedly different approach from their first two outings. While still adventurous and free form, the music here is funkier […]
In 1983, Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Ryuichi Sakamoto starred in his first film alongside David Bowie and legendary Japanese actor/director Takeshi Kitano aka “Beat Takeshi.” The film, Merry Christmas, […]
Released in 1961, Sunday At The Village Vanguard is a timeless classic that’s routinely ranked as one of the best live jazz recordings of all time. The album […]
An all-time jazz classic, Joe Henderson’s The Elements is a beautiful meeting of five singular talents propelled to cosmic dimensions by the one and only Alice ‘Swami Turiyasangitananda’ Coltrane. […]
On The Corner remains to this day, one of Miles Davis’ most polarizing efforts. Scorned by critics and fans alike upon its release, the free form jazz funk […]
One of the all time greatest 70’s jazz-funk albums, Gears features organist Johnny “Hammond” Smith in collaboration with the legendary Mizell brothers. The album was released in 1975 […]
Famously deleted from the catalogue of Asylum Records, with David Geffen pointedly trying to erase it from history, No Other is the lost and recently found masterpiece by […]
Under the moniker Fools, Chris Bear (the longstanding drummer/multi-instrumentalist of Grizzly Bear, and composer for HBO’s High Maintenance) recently released his first solo album on the Music From […]
Chrome were an experimental rock band formed in San Francisco in 1975. After their first album, the group’s mastermind, Damon Edge, met guitar player Helios Creed and the […]
One of our favorite ECM records, The Jewel In The Lotus is the debut solo album from master bass clarinetist Bennie Maupin. Though not a household name, Maupin […]
Perhaps the most significant thing about Seasons for Pete Jolly was that this album broke away from the more traditional approach that Jolly had been familiar with in […]
Batteaux is a long treasured and notoriously under appreciated 70’s underground folk-funk classic. The only release by the Batteau brother duo is a perfect mix of balearic blue […]
Chicago house music pioneer Larry Heard steps away from the dance floor to circle back on the downtempo and ambient themes previously explored on his 1996 album Alien. […]
Sun Ra’s Angels & Demons at Play is a diptych of a record created from two separate recording sessions recorded four years apart (Side A-1956 and Side B-1960). […]
In 1968, the Everly Brothers had nothing to lose, at least as pop artists. They hadn’t charted in three years, hadn’t been in the Top 10 for a […]
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 […]
When Prince entered the studio to lay down the tracks on For You, the stakes were high. He would be the youngest artist in Warner Bros. history to […]
If you’re familiar with Jessica Pratt’s first two records, her third album, Quiet Sign, isn’t a tremendous departure, per se. But while the first two albums are bedroom […]
Brazilian drummer & percussionist Airto Moreira’s second solo LP Seeds On The Ground – The Natural Sounds Of Airto is a “world music” masterpiece that blends a variety […]
Harumi’s self-titled debut and sole release is one of those quintessentials as far as rare records go. It checks literally all the boxes necessary for what you’d expect […]
Peter Ivers was somewhat of a behind-the-scenes L.A. figure of the ’70s and ’80s best known for writing “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” for David Lynch’s […]
Billy Higgins may not be a household name in jazz, but the master drummer was certainly one of the most revered in the scene. In fact, Higgins is […]
Most listeners seem to discover the highly regarded avant-garde trumpeter Jon Hassell via his Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics collaboration with Brian Eno which was not just […]
Motown’s Syreeta Wright is a bit of an unsung hero. Although her voice was not as outright powerful as the other soul divas of her day (Aretha, Diana, […]
Sextant, the first record Hancock cut for his new label Columbia Records, was considered a commercial flop upon its release in 1973. The record showcased Hancock’s early adoption […]
I’m the One is the debut LP from avant-garde singer and composer Anette Peacock. Peacock was a mostly self-taught musician who grew up in California and moved to […]
Los Angeles-based singer / ambient musician Ana Roxanne’s debut EP ~~~ is a sacred work of astral ambient music that lands perfectly on local favorite Leaving Records. Through […]
A masterpiece of uncanny soul, In a Mood is a holy grail find and one of only two albums by the late-great outsider guitarist Harry Case. A bit […]
Pharoah Sanders’ final album for Impulse! is a joyous message of love for all times. “Love is Everywhere” begins with a gorgeous bass vamp followed by steadily cascading […]
Sensations’ Fix is the brainchild of Italian musician Franco Falsini. In the sixties, Falsini developed his musical chops playing in a beat style band in Florence before moving […]
This surreal and transcendental work by the American avant-garde giant was the first iteration of what would be Robert Ashley’s televised 1983 opera Private Lives. A theatrical work […]
A record that we’d instantly pick out of the stacks based on cover alone, Paul Parrish’s The Forest of My Mind is a wonderful trip through mellow, psychedelic […]
What started as a “just for fun” side project from a little known guitarist has since become a rare and quite sought after 70’s private press, breezy psychedelic […]
It’s no accident that Paranoid is considered one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time. “Paranoid is important because it is the blueprint […]
Joni Mitchell’s 8th studio album Hejira has the imagery of highways, small towns and snow, in large part because it was written on a cross country road trip […]
You may not have listened to tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon’s One Flight Up but you’ll feel like you have when you do. As original as he is timeless, […]
One of our many favorites from the legendary Oakland-based label Black Jazz, double bassist Henry Franklin’s The Skipper At Home takes off right where his solo debut The […]
Steve Kuhn’s 1971 self-titled melancholic free jazz opus was written and recorded after he returned from living in Sweden for several years in the wake of his break […]
Time Capsule’s third release is the first-time vinyl reissue of 2003’s Illuminated Audio by Gigi (or rather: producer, bassist and spouse Bill Laswell). It’s essentially a remix album […]
A truly transcendent crossover gospel album by Chicagoan pastor and activist T.L. Barrett and his beloved youth choir. Barrett was the pastor at the Mount Zion church, whose […]
As a possible ode to Mort Garson’s Plantasia, Olive Ardizoni designed their first record as Green-House to communicate with plant life and the people who care for them. […]
Much more than just a rare groove classic, Eugene McDaniels’ Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse is a psychedelic-soul jazz album with a powerful message. McDaniels, who is also […]
Another archeological music discovery by Numero Group, Edge of Daybreak’s Eyes of Love was a long lost prison letter and portrait of incarcerated soul. It was recorded entirely […]
Welcome to the cosmic playground of The Space Lady, the Queen of Outsider Music. The Space Lady (AKA Suzy Soundz; born Susan Dietrich Schneider) has a heart as […]
After a making his way playing guitar and pedal steel in several different psych-rock and modern country groups over the last two decades, Raymond Richards debuts his first […]
A great way to travel when you’re stuck at home is to listen to Houston-based trio Khruangbin, whose band name is the Thai word for “flying engine” or […]
Rare Silk was an 80’s vocal jazz group, a genre that at the time was defined by it’s multi-part vocal harmonies, pop sensibilities and mix of swing and […]
It’s hard to pin down where to start with an artist that suffered such an incredibly turbulent life and at the same time, composed – on par with […]
A heartbreakingly intimate and rare private press record featuring American folk singer Kath Bloom accompanied by experimental musician Loren “Mazzacane” Connors. The record was originally issued in limited […]
A stark, off-kilter, angst-driven, supercharged debut album by British/German political-journalist-turned-singer Annika Henderson, performing as Anika, backed by the experimental electronic rock band BEAK>. The album consists primarily of […]
A free form jazz guitar record by a pioneer of the genre. Metheny plays with a carefree breezy dexterity here, yet manages to keep things tight with his […]
A cult classic originally released as a private pressing in 1975 that became a costly collector’s item over the years, and is now available to the masses thanks […]
Released in 1969, the In A Silent Way Sessions, as they were known, was all recorded in a day. These recordings were a departure for Davis and would […]
Shoes were formed in the early 70s by longtime friends John Murphy and Gary Klebe in Zion, Illinois before the two even owned their first instruments. The duo […]
These Trails were the Hawaii based couple Margaret Morgan and Patrick Cockett. They never played a show and recorded their sole album in 1973. They were joined in […]
Ever wonder how many amazing unreleased or unheard acetates currently sit in total obscurity, on a shelf somewhere, with decades’ worth of dust, unreleased, or perhaps even completely […]
All Keyed Up by keyboardist Ben Tankard is not what you’d expect from a gospel artist… In fact, there’s not much expected or “normal” to Ben Tankard’s life […]
From RVNG Intl. comes a 2017 anthology of self-released trans-temporal new age music by Bay Area composer/synthesist Pauline Anna Strom, assembled from seven albums composed and recorded between […]
The long-awaited reissue of Ernest Hood’s private press masterpiece is a must-have for any ambient music fan. Released in 1974 before the term “ambient music” was even coined, […]
A future classic from two rising stars of the LA jazz/electronic scene. Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar was originally self-released as a limited white label in 2018 […]
From the expert curation of Numero Group comes an extensive anthology of rare cassette releases, deep cuts and previously unreleased gems by prolific electronic music pioneer Joanna Brouk. […]
When you think of classic digger records, Lonnie’s albums are sure to come up. Endlessly sampled (the most famous being Digable Planets’ “Pacifics”) and sought after for his […]
The debut release from NYC based artist Chester Raj Anand serves as something of an audio diary retelling the experience of a solo trip to Tokyo. The story […]
“I strove to produce a musical work which uplifts the spirit by calming the mind and organically stimulating the subtler dimensions of physiology, in a manner consonant with […]
Hard Candy, Ned Doheny’s blue eyed soul opus, offers a lesson in everything going right for a record, yet still failing commercially. After his debut album failed to […]
Jon Lucien is known as one of the most focused and emotional balladeers to ever step in front of a microphone, but it’s his soothing baritone voice that […]
Stepping Into Tomorrow is a classic jazz-funk bomb from the great Donald Byrd featuring an all star cast including Gary Bartz on saxophone, Chuck Rainey on bass, and […]
An essential for any Arthur Russell fan, Another Thought is the enigmatic artist’s first posthumous release after passing from AIDS in 1992. Compiled by producer Don Christensen from […]
Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues is a multi-faceted jazz masterpiece. Musically, it represents a departure in Shepp’s music from the free jazz leanings of his previous output to cohesively […]
Bobby Brown’s debut is a difficult to classify outsider opus that has become a sort of grail for rare psych collectors (it’s featured in the highly renowned Acid […]
Zummo With an X is the debut album of Peter Zummo, a multi-instrumentalist and frequent collaborator/friend of the great Arthur Russell. Zummo’s playing can be heard on some […]
Tim Buckley’s third album represented many important changes for the young songwriter. He stopped working with the lyricist of his first two albums and began to write his […]
American composer and multi-instrumentalist Alvin Curran’s fantastic debut Canti E Vedute Del giardino Magnetico, which translates to Songs and Views from the Magnetic Garden, consists of two sidelong […]
Linda Cohen was a mostly self taught musician from Philadelphia who along with being a fixture in the local avant-garde music scene, worked diligently as a classical guitar […]
The aptly titled Traveller is an icy ambient journey through the harshness of a midwestern winter. Enveloped by nature and snow, Sampson recorded the Traveller entirely alone in […]
An In Sheep’s Clothing nighttime favorite, Barbara & Ernie’s only release is a complex combination of soul, folk rock, and late 60’s psychedelia. At first listen, it doesn’t […]
San Francisco is the perfect introductory album to American jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. Featuring his right-hand man Harold Land on reeds, the duo’s style takes a step forward […]
Blacks and Blues was recorded in 1973 when American jazz flutist Bobbi Humphrey was just 23 years old, two years after becoming the first African-American female instrumentalist signed […]
If you’re new to Alice Coltrane, this is an exciting first album to catapult you straight to her planet, whereas other albums might fly you there more slowly. […]
A good rule of thumb if you want to dive into an enormous artist discography and don’t know where to begin: trust the artist’s own recommendation. In this […]
In an unlikely collaboration between folk singer Laura Allan and New Age pioneer Paul Horn, Reflections captures two artists in perfect harmony of their talents. Allan, in addition […]
What makes this record so special is the sublime interplay between Bill Evans piano playing and Jim Hall’s guitar work. These two masters of their craft found a […]
It comes as little surprise that Miles Davis was a great admirer of Ahmad Jamal. The critically acclaimed jazz innovator, known for his understated playing and elegant arrangements […]
Steve Reich’s organic minimalist tour de force is a ground breaking record that would become an influence for much of the electronic records we hear today. Reich creates […]
Charlie Haden’s Closeness is comprised of 4 duet collaboration based melodies crafted by Haden. On each number, Haden (the bassist) pushes the musical envelope playing opposite an artist […]
This record finds Neil at a crossroads musically somewhere between country, rock and blues. While the title suggests summer breezy, On The Beach finds Neil in a more […]
A monumental jazz big band record, Masterpieces by Ellington was one of the earliest releases to take advantage of the extended time available on Columbia’s brand new 12-inch […]
When Pharoah Sanders’ Love in Us All was released in 1974, it was already becoming clear that the artist was shifting away from the wilder experimentations of his earlier […]
A much needed reissue of Chicago jazz legend Philip Cohran and his Artistic Heritage Ensemble’s private press gem On the Beach. Cohran played with the Sun Ra Arkestra […]
The New Folk Sound Of Terry Callier released in 1966 on Prestige is exactly what its title suggests – a fresh take on American folk from the then-newcomer […]
One of the most sensual records of all time. Janis Gaye, whom the album is dedicated to, recalls “I’m pretty sure if you took a poll of how […]
A daytime favorite at ISC, John Carroll Kirby’s solo piano album Tuscany on NYC label Patience is music inspired by a time and a place. The Los Angeles-based […]
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 – […]
