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 […]
Folk
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 […]
Fans of Vangelis’ epic soundtrack compositions may be surprised to learn that the Greek synth god’s first true solo effort actually sits in a more folk, psych, progressive […]
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 […]
North Marine Drive is the 1983 debut by Londoner Ben Watt before he joined forces with Marine Girls’ Tracey Thorn to create the mainstream 90s UK indie duo […]
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) […]
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 […]
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, […]
You may have already heard Brazilian singer Maria Rita through Music from Memory’s excellent Outro Tempo compilations. Still, Glasgow DJ Optimo and Sao Paulo’s Selvagem took the extra […]
Singer Fairuz is often regarded as “the Soul of Lebanon” and, in collaboration with the famed Rahbani brothers, created the modern Lebanese musical tradition. Post-colonial Lebanon in the […]
Very rarely does a compilation come along that’s as memorable and impressionable as Julien Dechery & DJ Sundae’s mixtape masterpiece Sky Girl. Compiled by the French selectors in […]
Few records in our collection could instantly silence the room at In Sheep’s Clothing quite like Emmanuelle Parrenin’s Maison Rose. Recorded in 1977 with the golden era of folk […]
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 […]
The Road to Ruin marks a pivotal stepping stone in the multi-faceted career of our patron saint John Martyn. Not only was it the last collaboration with his […]
A brilliant, memorable debut album by Sessa, a Brazilian Sephardic Jew from São Paulo, known for his work with Yonatan Gat as well as his psych/rock/funk band Garotas […]
An obscure jazz-rock holy grail from Sweden that touches on elements of pastoral folk as well as progressive rock, but ultimately sounds quite unlike any of the aforementioned […]
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 […]
Bip Redon, Dominique Lentin, his sister Isabelle Lentin (of Virgule IV), and a few other unknown musicians make up the mysterious L’Empire des Sons. Not much is known […]
A collection must-have, this is the debut album by English folk singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan. Like so many albums in our collection and amazing albums in general, this once […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
Düsseldorf-based DJ, producer, and Salon Des Amateurs resident Jan Schulte, aka Wolf Müller or Bufiman, pulled together this excellent concept album featuring his personal favorite “tropical drum” music […]
L.A. Turnaround was recorded a year after the dissolution of Bert Jansch’s group Pentangle, and saw the artist at a shifting point in his life and sound. The […]
If you have a road trip playlist, this album is a perfect addition. There are some songs that just make you want to hit the road and embrace […]
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 […]
In 1969, four young, ambitious musicians—Haruomi Hosono (bass, vocals), Eiichi Ohtaki (guitars, vocals), Shigeru Suzuki (guitars) and Takashi Matsumoto (drums, lyrics)—found each other in Tokyo. They bonded over […]
Maria Monti, a talented Italian folk singer and actor who appeared in films by Bernardo Bertolucci and Sergio Leone, was backed by some incredible talent on her fifth […]
A big favorite here at ISC and to all who were present during the hundreds of times we played it at the bar. It’s one of our most […]
Go Hirano’s 2004 Corridor of Daylights sees a first time vinyl reissue thanks to Los Angeles label Black Editions. An outlier in Tokyo’s P.S.F. catalogue, a label known […]
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 […]
A brilliant, slightly under the radar, new compilation of Urugauyan 80’s new wave pop, fusion, ambient folk and electronics, compiled by Spanish DJ and collector Javi Bayo. Similar […]
Picture the delight of meeting one of the most interesting people you’ve ever encountered, spending an impromptu afternoon with them over a long cup of coffee, picking their […]
Italian multi-instrumentalist and composer Pepe Maina describes his music as “ambient & prog rock music for dreams and illusion.” His debut album Il Canto Dell’Arpa e Del Flauto […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Cited as being an entry point to genres such as trip hop and ambient, Solid Air is undoubtedly John Martyn’s magnum opus. A true balance of dark and […]
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 […]
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 – […]
