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After spending the early ‘60s playing in groups with Cecil Taylor and Archie Shepp, trumpeter Bill Dixon recorded his singular and visionary masterpiece in 1967. Intents And Purposes remains not only Dixon’s defining statement as a composer, but also one of the most luminous moments in the history of avant-garde jazz. Combining orchestral timbres with free jazz intensity, Dixon leads a ten-piece ensemble including such heavyweights as Byard Lancaster, Robin Kenyatta, Jimmy Garrison and Reggie Workman. Closing each side of the album, “Nightfall Pieces I” and “Nightfall Pieces II” are evocative duets featuring Dixon’s flugelhorn accompanied by flautist George Marge. With Intents And Purposes, Dixon creates a work focused as much on sculpting and defining space—emphasizing moments of resonant stillness around which the compositions thrum and swell—as on purity of expression. This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of Art Ensemble of Chicago, Anthony Braxton and Henry Cow. “One of the richest and most compelling LPs to taunt and tempt listeners into a life of freakdom.” —John Corbett

LP $20.25

01/27/2017 855985006192 

sv 119 


Plaster Falling was recorded at the same time as John Bender’s first album, I Don’t Remember Now / I Don’t Want To Talk About It. Released in 1981 on the artist’s own Record Sluts label, copies of Plaster Falling’s initial pressing came hermetically sealed in plaster (and later latex). Thus, listeners had to literally break open the record to find what’s hidden inside. Produced in relative isolation, Plaster Falling is a beacon of brilliance in the nascent minimal-wave sphere. Veering towards skeletal urgency, these recordings set bright analogue melodies against half-whispered vocals and expand Bender’s electronic cryptography thru a series of lone signifiers: “Station,” “Plaster,” “Women,” etc. As Bender explains in the liner notes, “I began to distance myself from the present and describe scenes as if in a movie – seeking concrete, terse, juxtaposed imagery.” This first-time standalone reissue is recommended for fans of Gareth Williams & Mary Currie’s Flaming Tunes, Minimal Man and Grouper. Pressed on translucent blue vinyl in a limited / numbered edition of 1,000 copies.

LP $20.25

12/16/2016 855985006024 

 


MP3 $9.90

12/16/2016 855985006024 

 


FLAC $11.99

12/16/2016 855985006024 

 


Hex Enduction Hour by The Fall

The Fall

Hex Enduction Hour
Superior Viaduct

***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Hex Enduction Hour was originally conceptualized as the death knell for The Fall. Beleaguered by career uncertainty and guided by vague premonitions of collapse, Mark E. Smith declared that one full hour was needed to thoroughly and perhaps finally state his case with The Fall. This framework resulted in a true classic of the post-punk era and an album that gave The Fall their first taste of album chart success, thankfully removing surrender from the equation. Recorded in haste in both Iceland and England in late 1981, the performances on Hex Enduction Hour are among the band’s most urgent and distinctive. The album begins with the severe provocation of “The Classical” and the terse punk of “Jawbone And The Air-Rifle,” but it’s “Hip Priest” that stands out as Smith’s calling-card theme, a song that would become inextricable from his character (or perception thereof) in the years that followed. The elongated “And This Day” fittingly positions the band as spell-casters, closing the hour by filling every conceivable bit of space with wild, primitive percussion and whimsical electric piano. Superior Viaduct’s edition is the first time that Hex Enduction Hour has been available on vinyl domestically since its initial release in 1982. Liner notes by Brian Turner.

LP $20.25

12/02/2016 855985006154 

SV 115 


On Room To Live, The Fall take the hurried, all-or-nothing approach of their preceding Kamera Records releases to extreme ends. Forged via Mark E. Smith’s continual disassembling of players and focus on previously unrehearsed material, the album collects The Fall’s most experimental and improvisational recordings. As proclaimed on the album cover, “Undilutable Slang Truth!” would be revealed throughout Room To Live. With the album’s comparatively lo-fi production and always- teetering performances, the title track comes closest to a stab at pop (by The Fall’s standards), built on fantastically bent saloon swaying under one of Smith’s by-now characteristic dressing-downs of square life. “Detective Instinct” is an unshakeable creeper, as languid and ominous as the band would get during the Marc Riley years. “Marquis Cha Cha” is a post-punk rhumba, beginning with fury and then easing into something only The Fall could conjure. Superior Viaduct’s edition is the first time that Room To Live has been available on vinyl domestically since its initial release in 1982. Liner notes by Brian Turner.

LP $20.25

12/02/2016 855985006161 

SV 116 


A Taste Of Dna by DNA

DNA

A Taste Of Dna
Superior Viaduct

New York's DNA have had a massive effect on alternative / indie rock around the world, despite the trio never releasing a full-length studio album during their four year tenure (1978-82). Various groups citing them as an influence have included Sonic Youth, Boredoms, Big Black and Blonde Redhead (the latter taking their name from DNA's most-famous song). While the band's explosive live performances captivated audiences, extant recordings captured DNA's dynamic sound and savage economy in songwriting.   Originally released in 1981, A Taste Of DNA remains a primary source for No Wave archaeologists. Singer/guitarist Arto Lindsay and drummer Ikue Mori are joined by bassist and Pere Ubu founding-member Tim Wright. Across the EP's six anti-epic tracks, the band charges forward with jagged guitars and dislocated grooves, while Lindsay's guttural screams create a thoroughly personal semantics.  As Marc Masters writes in the liner notes, "A Taste Of DNA has a kind of sum-of-parts insanity, wherein every musical element sounds conventionally off, like puzzle pieces purposefully jammed together at the wrong ends."  This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of The Contortions' Buy and Red Crayola's The Parable Of Arable Land.

12" $13.00

11/25/2016 855985006994 

 


Recorded in Auckland in 1984, these archival tracks capture seminal New Zealand band This Kind Of Punishment’s unique alchemy of poignant melody and four-track claustrophobia. The previously unreleased “Radio Silence” offers an astringent, phantasmagoric comment on—and perhaps retreat from—the contemporaneous NZ scene. “Reaching An End” (from legendary compilation Killing Capitalism With Kindness) is a classic in the mold later perfected on Peter Jefferies’ solo output: unadorned piano blanketed by rich, wistful vocals, plucked strings and muffled drum beat. Less, after all, can be so much more. Cover photography by Chris Knox. Translucent orange vinyl pressed in limited edition of 1,000 copies.

7" $9.75

11/25/2016 855985006925 

SV 092 


It Don't Bother Me by Jansch, Bert

Jansch, Bert

It Don't Bother Me
Superior Viaduct

Bert Jansch recorded his second album in 1965, just after his self-titled debut earlier that same year. The sessions were a step-up from the intimate, field-recording setting of his first album, although still not labored over too much in the studio.   "I figured that the faster I put down the tracks, the faster I could get out of the place," Jansch told NME, "so I just ordered about a dozen bottles of wine, put the microphone in front of me and off I went, for three hours."  The lyrics of It Don't Bother Me shift vividly between pure poetic imagery and the hollow resonance of pain. The LP's underrated title song stands as a manifesto for the way Jansch lived at the time. "My Lover," featuring guitarist John Renbourn, has almost sitar-like drones, while "Lucky Thirteen" is a captivating, melancholy instrumental that shimmers with brilliant fingerpicking.   This first-time domestic release is remastered from the original tapes and features liner notes by Richie Unterberger. Bert Jansch's It Don't Bother Me remains another essential British folk LP that belongs next to Nick Drake, Roy Harper and John Martyn in every record collection.

LP $20.25

11/18/2016 855985006222 

SV 122 


Forever Came Today by Flesh Eaters

Flesh Eaters

Forever Came Today
Superior Viaduct

In the wake of the star-filled A Minute To Pray A Second To Die, The Flesh Eaters’ frontman Chris D. assembled a leaner, meaner band to deliver his next unbound vision. Forever Came Today, the group’s third full-length album, was originally released on Ruby Records in 1982 and features Don Kirk on guitar, Robyn Jameson on bass, Chris Wahl on drums, Steve Berlin on sax and Chris D.’s unmistakable voice. “My Life To Live” and “Shallow Water” are masterfully wrought punk tunes, reverberating with heart-wrenching vocals that turn on a dime from desperate whispers to blood-curdling screams. “Drag My Name In Mud” dives deeper into full-throttle rock demonology, bluesy primeval swagger and obsessive imagery, inspired in equal parts by William S. Burroughs and Edgar Allan Poe. This first-time vinyl reissue has been carefully remastered and comes with lyric sheet. Forever Came Today is the perfect introduction to The Flesh Eaters’ dark sense of humor and positively bleak form of rock ’n’ roll.

LP $17.50

10/21/2016 855985006901 

SV 052 LP 


CD $16.00

02/26/2016 855985006918 

SV 052 CD 


Grotesque (after The Gramme) by The Fall

The Fall

Grotesque (after The Gramme)
Superior Viaduct

***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Bursting into the 1980s on a new label (the then-upstart, now-legendary Rough Trade) and with an augmented, audibly panicked lineup, The Fall's Grotesque is the true pure-bred Fall release from the Marc Riley era. Released in the immediate wake of The Fall's most beloved single (Totally Wired), the album carries over that righteously famed teeth-chattering, bolstered in no small part by the drumming of new addition Paul Hanley, brother of bassist Steve Hanley and aged only 15 at the time of recording.  "Pay Your Rates" negates the notion of easing into things, opening the album with pure jitter, guided by hornet-buzz guitars and Mark E. Smith's commanding shout, allowing for breath only during the brief, lumbering waltzes that appear at unexpected intervals. "New Face In Hell" is an entirely alien take on dancehall post-punk – a kazoo-driven rave-up that holds an unshakable position in the band's canon.   Many significant firsts surround Grotesque, including The Fall's inaugural production partnership with Mayo Thompson and the debut of Suzanne Smith's wonderful artwork, both of which would play key roles in the band's following phase.   Superior Viaduct's edition is the first time that Grotesque has been available on vinyl domestically since its initial release in 1980. Liner notes by Brian Turner.

LP $22.00

10/21/2016 855985006130 

SV 113 


Scottish singer-songwriter Bert Jansch recorded his first album in producer Bill Leader's London flat with a borrowed guitar, sitting on the edge of the bed and singing into a portable tape recorder.   As author Richie Unterberger writes in the liner notes, "When Bert Jansch's self-titled debut LP was issued in April 1965, he was already a major figure on the British folk scene. His synthesis of traditional British folk with blues and a bit of jazz was at the vanguard of a new generation of UK folk performers, well-versed in past forms but unafraid to venture into new territory. His virtuosic guitar was complemented by a plaintive rough-hewn voice that didn't just document the on-the-road experience, but lived it."  Bert Jansch contains all original material, except a shattered cover of Davy Graham's "Angie" that Jansch makes all his own. "Needle of Death," one of the first folk songs to address the consequences of heroin use, yields to a restraint uncommon for Jansch, yet beautifully encapsulates the album's tone of heartfelt conviction.  Superior Viaduct is honored to present the first-time domestic release of Bert Jansch's debut, remastered from the original master tapes. For those interested in a unique strand of music that would become a major influence on everyone from Jimmy Page, Nick Drake, Donovan, Neil Young and more – there is no better place to start than here.

LP $20.25

10/07/2016 855985006215 

SV 121 


If The Fall truly is a cult band, then Slates both benefits from and reinforces such shrouded obsessions. In presenting these six particular songs as a 10" EP, the inherent and attractive difficulty of The Fall's sound is made physical, framing the urgency of their singles from this period (notably How I Wrote 'Elastic Man' and Lie Dream of a Casino Soul) alongside lengthy rumblings normally restricted to long players.  The tumbling and phased "Middle Mass" begins on an incredible high note, segueing into the snake-charm hypnotism of "An Older Lover Etc." "Slates, Slags, Etc." is built on stretched VU-inspired riffing, complete with ace feedback bleed that doubtlessly went on long after fade-out. Ultimately, it's the piercing chimes of guitar and marching drum grind of "Prole Art Threat" that elevates Slates beyond oddity. Truly one of Mark E. Smith's finest, busiest and most enigmatic performances, equally matched by a band at the peak of their powers.  Superior Viaduct's edition is the first time that Slates has been available on vinyl domestically since its initial release in 1981. Liner notes by Brian Turner.

10" $16.00

09/23/2016 855985006147 

SV 114 


***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Received a 9.1 Best New Reissue rating from Pitchfork.  Suicide's landmark self-titled LP was originally released in 1977, seven years after the group's initial conception as part of the performance art scene on the Lower East Side. It is hard to overstate the importance of the seven tracks on Suicide, which paved the way for punk, industrial, hip hop, noise and beyond.  "Ghost Rider" accelerates with brutal anguish and desire for everything rock 'n' roll. Martin Rev's utterly singular "instrument" pounds out a synthetic soundscape, while Alan Vega's oversaturated vocals obsess over motorcycle getaways. "Rocket U.S.A." distills the duo's dynamic power down to a ghostly pulse, while the psycho-drama of "Frankie Teardrop" (Bruce Springsteen's all-time favorite song) delves even further into cinematic storytelling and, at the same time, clears the room at the end of the night.  Superior Viaduct is honored to present Suicide – restored from the original mixes, fully sanctioned by the band and with liner notes by Thurston Moore. If there can be a quintessential New York band, it is without a doubt Suicide.

LP $20.25

07/01/2016 855985006093 

SV109 


***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Received an 8.7 rating from Pitchfork.  Dragnet is arguably The Fall's best-known album. With the departure of Martin Bramah after Live At The Witch Trials, the band underwent yet another lineup shift in late 1979. Marc Riley switched to guitar and Steve Hanley joined on bass; the latter's signature basslines would become a major part of The Fall for the next two decades.   Opening track "Psykick Dancehall" strikes like an elusive, working-class anthem with its bouncy tempo changes and Mark E. Smith’s unfiltered vocals raining down on the dance-floor. "Dice Man" takes its direction from disheveled beats, stuttering lyrics and asymmetrical phrasing. Somehow Dragnet manages to be even more lo-fi than The Fall's debut, yet reveals a cohesive sound and fierce songs that would further build the band’s cult following.  Superior Viaduct's edition is the first time that Dragnet has been available on vinyl domestically since its initial release in 1979. Liner notes by Brian Turner.

LP $20.25

07/01/2016 855985006123 

 


Live At The Witch Trials by The Fall

The Fall

Live At The Witch Trials
Superior Viaduct

The first full-length album of The Fall, Live At The Witch Trials, is not actually a live album. Emerging out of a two-day studio session at Camden Sound in North West London during a sickly December of 1978, Witch Trials amounts to the sinister foundation of the band's diverse sound. Every song explores drastically different styles and wild terrain, leaving much to decipher over its eleven tracks.   "Frightened" has magnetic attraction / repulsion that shifts between Martin Bramah's skeletal guitar, Yvonne Pawlett's plastic keyboards and the lurching rhythm section of Marc Riley and Karl Burns. Mark E. Smith's mesmerizing bark and eerie lyrics warp the cosmic context with each repeated non-chorus. "Rebellious Jukebox" takes yet another turn and showcases the band's more melodic leanings.   One gets the sense that The Fall are in a time-travel hallucination (from 19th century witch trials to a scathing critique of the late-70s punk scene) where the band's snot-nosed scrabble afflicts the shape of pop to come. As Smith dictates, "We are The Fall, northern white crap that talks back."  Superior Viaduct's edition is the first time that Live At The Witch Trials has been available on vinyl domestically since its initial release in 1979. Liner notes by Brian Turner.

LP $20.25

07/01/2016 855985006116 

SV111 


Four Organs / Phase Patterns by Reich, Steve

Reich, Steve

Four Organs / Phase Patterns
Superior Viaduct

***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Received a 7.6 rating from Pitchfork.  Steve Reich remains one of the most important figures in 20th century music. Though he studied at the prestigious arts institutions Julliard and Mills College, by the mid-1960s Reich set about dismantling the very orthodoxy that he had been trained in. Forming a new musical language based on repetitive processes, Reich became established as part of the so-called “Big Four” of New York minimalists (along with La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Philip Glass). Reich’s influence can easily be seen today in both the classical world and contemporary pop music. “Four Organs” is the ultimate minimalist composition. Performed by Reich, Glass, Art Murphy and Steve Chambers, four identical Farfisa organs strike a single chord and gradually lengthen each note to produce polyrhythms between the players. Anchored by Jon Gibson’s stoically-steady pulse on maracas, the piece deconstructs its opening burst to a sustained mass of sound – stretching the tones to create (in Reich’s words) “slow-motion music.” Inspired by Reich’s early training on drums, “Phase Patterns” treats the keyboards like tuned percussion instruments: a basic rhythm pattern is played in unison and almost imperceptibly increases tempo to move out-of-sync. Each progressive cycle emphasizes unique figures that are not generated by an individual alone, but rather emerge from the communal expression of the group. Originally released on Shandar in 1971, Four Organs / Phase Patterns is one of the most highly regarded avant-garde recordings of the past 50 years. This first-time...

LP $22.00

05/20/2016 855985006963 

SV 096 LP 


CD $16.00

02/12/2016 855985006956 

SV 096 


Recorded in May 1978, a few weeks before DNA entered the studio with Brian Eno for the essential No New York sessions, You & You is this legendary No Wave trio's sole single and features original lineup with Arto Lindsay (guitar/vocals), Robin Crutchfield (keyboards) and Ikue Mori (drums). This first-time vinyl reissue comes with original sleeve design. Limited edition clear vinyl.

7" $9.75

04/16/2016 855985006987 

SV 098 


Originally released in 1965 by The English Bookshop in Paris and later by ESP-Disk’ in New York, Call Me Burroughs marks not only the recorded debut of William Burroughs, but also for many the first encounter with his inimitable voice. While Burroughs has had pervasive influence on counterculture in the past 50 years—from the Beats to punk rock and even hip hop—no other figure today is so widely considered the epitome of cool. Call Me Burroughs features the author reading from Naked Lunch and Nova Express, two of his best-known works that utilize the cut-up method developed by Burroughs and artist Brion Gysin. An eerie, deadpan drawl guides the listener through sci-fi innerscapes, narcotic nightmares, reports from the edge of the apocalypse. Phantasmagoric passages echo real experiences roaming the streets of Mexico, the West Village, Tangiers. Bradley the Buyer and other shadowy agents haunt our ears as Burroughs turns the page and pauses purposefully. “Anything put out up till now is like pulling a figure out of the air—Enemy installations shattered—Personnel decimated—Board Books taken—Electric waves of resistance sweeping through mind screens of the earth—The message of Total Resistance on short wave of the world” This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of Hunter S. Thompson, Patti Smith and Throbbing Gristle.

LP $20.25

03/25/2016 855985006949 

SV 094 


Outside The Dream Syndicate by Conrad, Tony With Faust

Conrad, Tony With Faust

Outside The Dream Syndicate
Superior Viaduct

***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Violinist, composer and filmmaker Tony Conrad started his career in New York in the early 1960s. As a member of the Theater of Eternal Music (a.k.a. the Dream Syndicate) alongside John Cale, La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela and Angus MacLise, he participated in now-legendary and often legendarily loud drone performances with many pieces having no beginning and no end. During a fateful trip to Germany in 1972, Conrad met with avant-rock visionaries Faust and made the very first record to bear his name. Outside The Dream Syndicate, originally released in Europe only in 1973, is a stunning debut. Two side-long tracks—“The Side Of Man And Womankind” and “The Side Of The Machine”—show just how far Conrad had moved beyond his minimalist peers. Werner Diermaier’s repetitive drum beat and Jean-Hervé Peron’s stripped-down bassline conjure a tense, ascetic groove, while Conrad’s seamless violin, initially so controlled, reveals a surprising adaptability. The music shifts almost on a subliminal level, pushing and pulling to the drone’s internal pulse. It is hard to imagine Conrad’s trajectory from downtown Manhattan to a farmhouse in the German countryside that ultimately resulted in Outside The Dream Syndicate, yet no other record captures—so completely and instantly—the intersection of avant-garde and rock forms. Outside The Dream Syndicate remains ahead of and bracingly outside of its time.  This first-time vinyl reissue and long out-of-print CD release have been carefully been carefully mastered from the original master tapes and include liner notes by musician Jim O’Rourke...

LP $20.25

04/08/2016 855985006888 

SV 048 LP 


CD $16.00

04/08/2016 855985006895 

SV 048 CD 


MP3 $9.90

03/25/2016 855985006895 

 


FLAC $11.99

03/25/2016 855985006895 

 


I Don't Remember Now / I Don't Want To Talk About It by Bender, John

Bender, John

I Don't Remember Now / I Don't Want To Talk About It
Superior Viaduct

John Bender recorded voraciously between 1978 and 1980 at his home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Not even song titles could slow down his creative pace, as he named all the tracks after their position on the original tapes. “36A2,” for example, was cassette #36 side A, piece #2. To close the DIY aesthetic circle, Bender made sleeves by hand with no two covers alike and pressed the LPs in hyper-limited editions on his own Record Sluts imprint. I Don’t Remember Now / I Don’t Want To Talk About It, Bender’s first album from 1980, is the holy grail of minimal lo-fi electronics. Layers of fractured melodies, distorted synthesizers, hollowed-out rhythms and claustrophobic vocals unfold over the 40 minutes of this lost masterpiece. “It’s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl,” one of Faust’s greatest songs, is perfectly deconstructed by a distinct punk-meets-experimentalist sensibility.  While I Don’t Remember Now is impossibly rare and the man behind the music remains shrouded in self-imposed mystery, the real surprise is that it has taken 35+ years for listeners to discover Bender’s warm, art-damaged immediacy. This first-time standalone reissue is recommended for fans of Pere Ubu, Brian Eno and Robert Ashley.  Liner notes by John Bender.

LP $20.25

05/20/2016 855985006017 

SV 101 


MP3 $8.99

03/25/2016 855985006017 

 


FLAC $9.90

03/25/2016 855985006017 

 


“This is the story of a man, marked by an image from his childhood.” Thus begins, with deceptive simplicity, Chris Marker’s La Jetée (1962). The film, by far Marker’s best-known work, synthesizes many of the elusive filmmaker’s central preoccupations – time and memory, power and resistance, the ephemerality and resilience of love – yet it also undermines the very idea of film. Composed almost entirely of still photographs, La Jetée quite literally pieces together the tale of an unnamed, forsaken protagonist, drafted into a series of time travel experiments in post-apocalyptic Paris. While Marker creates some of the most hauntingly beautiful imagery in cinema, what animates La Jetée’s frozen pictures is its sparse and unsettling soundscape. Whispers, breaths and heartbeats offer an unnerving reminder of bodily rhythms that, inside the film and out, will inevitably cease. Fragments of symphonic music at once capture a love affair and underscore the tragedy awaiting it. The poetic momentum of the narrator’s voice, our only guide: “On the tenth day, images begin to ooze, like confessions.” Superior Viaduct is honored to present the first-time release of the soundtrack from La Jetée. This vinyl album features both French and English voiceover narrations, along with organic textures and Trevor Duncan’s impressionistic score. More than half a century has passed since La Jetée’s theatrical release – now is the time to travel back to the “sudden roar” of this masterpiece in a completely different light.

LP $20.25

02/26/2016 855985006000 

SV 100 


To Whom Who Keeps A Record by Coleman, Ornette

Coleman, Ornette

To Whom Who Keeps A Record
Superior Viaduct

In the late 1950s, Ornette Coleman set the jazz world on fire. From his own unique playing style to his fundamental deconstruction of harmony and complete rethinking of group performance, Coleman at once confounded critics and inspired a new generation. This revolutionary music eventually became known as free jazz, but Coleman’s influence extended well beyond – into avant-garde rock and art circles – and today his name is synonymous with artistic freedom.  Originally released in Japan only, To Whom Who Keeps A Record collects outtakes from Coleman’s legendary Atlantic period, sessions from Change of the Century and This Is Our Music that are as emotionally transfixing as intellectually rigorous. Featuring the classic quartets with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, Billy Higgins and Ed Blackwell, this collection is striking for its brilliant compositions and scorching solos. The song titles themselves lay out Coleman’s central philosophy: “Music always brings goodness to us all. Unless one has some other motive for its use.” This first-time vinyl reissue includes liner notes by Byron Coley. 1. Music Always 2. Brings Goodness 3. To Us 4. All 5. P.S. Unless One Has (Blues Connotation No. 2) 6. Some Other 7. Motive...

LP $20.25

02/26/2016 857176003485 

SV 086 


Introducing Scientist - The Best Dub Album in the World by Scientist

Scientist

Introducing Scientist - The Best Dub Album in the World
Superior Viaduct

***BACK IN STOCK!!! Hopeton Brown, better known as Scientist, has been a pioneering figure in the world of dub for nearly 40 years. His early love of electronics proved fruitful when (still a teenager) he was hired at King Tubby’s studio in Kingston. Brown quickly ascended the ranks and became heir to Tubby’s throne, producing imaginative and technically impressive mixes that solidified his forward-looking nickname. Introducing Scientist – The Best Dub Album in the World, his 1980 debut LP, lives up to its boastful title. Recorded with Sly & Robbie at Channel One Studio and mixed at King Tubby’s, the album features hypnotic basslines, reverb-drenched keyboards, and fluid, start-stop rhythms. Opening track “Steppers,” with its well-balanced phrasing and organic contours, shows Scientist’s mastery of the studio-as-instrument concept. On “Scientific,” the effects-laden guitars are stretched to their outer limit to create magnificent, spaced-out textures and muted tension. Introducing Scientist displays the talents of a man obsessed with every element of production, drawing out the very best of the dub form.

LP $22.00

11/27/2015 857176003690 

SV 093 


In 1980, Ilitch mastermind Thierry Müller released his second LP, 10 Suicides, on the French imprint S.C.O.P.A. Unlike his debut Periodikmindtrouble (also available from Superior Viaduct), which featured intricately layered instrumentals, 10 Suicides explores a more art-damaged pop sensibility. While distorted guitars and atmospheric synth workouts remain a part of Müller’s signature sound, several songs credit the mysterious Ruth Ellyeri, who was not an actual person, but rather Müller’s female alter-ego.  Opening track “Elle Voulait Que Je Sois Drôle” shows Ilitch’s new direction with overloaded vocoders, driving Moog basslines and soft, Eno-like melodic flourishes. The androgynous vocals on “Waiting For Mabelle (Je Ne Viendrais Pas)” resemble an upbeat Gregorian chant bent through a 20th Century lens. 10 Suicides is a staggeringly personal album that still sounds years ahead of its time. This first-time vinyl reissue comes with 16-page booklet and is recommended for fans of Ghédalia Tazartès, Chris & Cosey and Monoton.

LP $20.25

11/27/2015 857176003751 

 


MP3 $9.90

11/20/2015 857176003751 

SV 075 


FLAC $11.99

11/20/2015 857176003751 

 


Periodikmindtrouble by Ilitch

Ilitch

Periodikmindtrouble
Superior Viaduct

In the mid-1970s, Parisian composer and multi-instrumentalist Thierry Müller began operating primarily under the Ilitch moniker. Juxtaposing dark, electronic soundscapes and solo guitar improvisations, Ilitch created some of the most enduring music of the era. It comes as no surprise that Nurse With Wound included Müller on their famed list of influential avant-garde artists. Originally released on Oxygene Records in 1978, Ilitch’s debut Periodikmindtrouble was a shot across the bow for the French underground scene. Comprised of instrumental four-track recordings made in Müller’s dorm room, the album features gritty tape loops, analog synth swells and angst-ridden guitars. “Sequence 4” fills the stereo field with eerie harmonium and kosmische textures, while the side-long title track is a bona fide organ soliloquy, exploring both abrasive and ambient sonorities. “Derriere La Fenetre (Behind the Window)” dives deeper into acoustic patterns to reveal the expressive quality of Müller’s singular style. Periodikmindtrouble lays the groundwork for an impressive body of work that has grown only more unsettling over the past three decades.  This first-time vinyl reissue comes packaged in a gatefold jacket and is recommended for fans of Cluster, Fripp / Eno and Heldon.

LP $20.25

11/27/2015 857176003744 

 


MP3 $9.90

11/20/2015 857176003744 

 


FLAC $11.99

11/20/2015 857176003744 

 


The Long String Instrument by Fullman, Ellen

Fullman, Ellen

The Long String Instrument
Superior Viaduct

Ellen Fullman began developing her installation The Long String Instrument in 1981, in search of tonalities that could not be achieved with traditional instruments. This large-scale work consists of 70-foot-long metallic wires, anchored by a wooden resonator, across which the performer moves backwards and forwards with rosin-covered fingers. The overall effect has been rightfully compared to the experience of standing inside an enormous grand piano. Recorded during Fullman’s 1985 residency at Het Apollohuis in Eindhoven, Holland, The Long String Instrument album is the first document of her acoustic explorations. “Woven Processional,” which features Fullman alongside artist Arnold Dreyblatt, conjures an enchanting drone from the elongated strings and dissolves into organ-like overtones and otherworldly textures. Several tracks bring to life another Fullman invention, The Water Drip Drum, constructed from water dripping into an amplified aluminum pan and manipulated by foot pedal. Thirty years since its initial release, Ellen Fullman’s debut LP remains a major contribution to the histories of sound sculpture and minimalist composition. This first-time reissue is mastered from the original analog tapes and recommended for fans of Pauline Oliveros, Charlemagne Palestine and Harry Bertoia.

LP $17.50

10/23/2015 857176003850 

 


MP3 $9.90

10/23/2015 857176003850 

 


FLAC $11.99

10/23/2015 857176003850 

 


At The Medieval Castle Nineteen 100-year Lifetimes Since by Departmentstore Santas

Departmentstore Santas

At The Medieval Castle Nineteen 100-year Lifetimes Since
Superior Viaduct

The Departmentstore Santas’ LP is a underground rock classic of the highest order—from its carnivalesque front cover to the sixteen home-schooled tracks contained inside. Information about this mysterious band has been as scarce as original copies of their self-released album, yet purveyors of lo-fi pop esoterica have whispered about the Santas’ raison d’etre for the better part of the past three decades. Recorded in the early ’80s in La Mesa, California, At the Medieval Castle Nineteen 100-Year Lifetimes Since features quirky sing-alongs, wide-eyed lyrics, echoey instrumentals and outsider folk-punk à la Daniel Johnston. While bandleader Joseph D’Angelo’s unique charm may not fit comfortably in any one style, his preternatural world is united by the warmth and grit of these bedroom recordings.  Out of step with other music of its era, Departmentstore Santas uncannily anticipated the 4-track movement of the ’90s. This first-time reissue is recommended for fans of Television Personalities, Guided By Voices and Cleaners From Venus.

LP $17.50

10/23/2015 857176003478 

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MP3 $9.90

09/25/2015 857176003478 

 


FLAC $11.99

09/25/2015 857176003478 

 


The first-time vinyl reissue of the 1979 solo debut from The Homosexuals bassist Jim Welton (a.k.a. L. Voag) includes a bonus 7-inch of the rare Move EP. The Way Out is recommended for fans of Desperate Bicycles, This Heat and Mark Perry.  “The start of recording The Way Out crossed over with the last days of my involvement with the Homosexuals. Lovely as they were, the guys were demanding unswerving, vanilla rock ’n’ roll fealty from me—something I just couldn’t provide given my need to taste eight thousand musical ideas at once. “The gravity around which The Way Out took shape issued from a decidedly asinine idea: what if we lived in a world where the music of the avant-gardists (Stockhausen, Oliveros, Henry) provided the best-selling, chart-topping pabulum of the day, while pop music (as we know it) was an obscure, nigh impenetrable, elitist niche product? L. Voag is a fiction used to describe a character from the pop milieu who, desperate for a hit, attempts to knock out a crossover album combining both worlds. Not surprisingly, he fails miserably. “The Way Out was recorded at Surrey Sound Studios, founded in 1976 by brothers Nigel and Chris Grey. While Nigel (sensibly?) concentrated on music biz staples The Police and others, Chris—a visionary with at least one if not both feet planted in the future—opened up the studio to all manner of experiment, actively inviting mavericks and crazies to participate. Maniacs like the Homosexuals, Milk From Cheltenham, and L. Voag...

LP+7" $20.25

10/23/2015 857176003522 

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MP3 $9.90

09/25/2015 857176003522 

 


FLAC $11.99

09/25/2015 857176003522 

 


The first-time vinyl reissue of the sole album from UK DIY legends Milk From Cheltenham, originally released in 1983 on famed It’s War Boys imprint, is recommended for fans of Swell Maps, The Faust Tapes and LAFMS.  “Flashback to no-when (1978) in a musty cellar beneath a record store in Brixton, later to become the humble 8-track recording studio of It’s War Boys. Milk From Cheltenham would regularly jam and invite friends / enemies to participate with whatever weapons / instruments they chose to deploy, making live recordings on an odd triple microphone input cassette player. By the time of the recordings at Surrey Sound in 1981-82, we had reduced in size from a hive of toxicity to a triptych of poisoners: Victorr Lounge, Salamander and myself. “Like rabid quantum monkeys with broken typewriters, we were allowed to run loose in the studio, under the supervision of tonmeister Chris Grey and head zookeeper L. Voag. There was always a cornucopia of exotic instruments including kettle drums, synthesizers and electric sitar. To make some of the basement tapes sound bigger, Chris would play them through vast speakers and re-record the results. The footsteps you hear is our mate strolling around in cowboy boots on top of one of the speakers. “Milk were hot—like a triplet mega-brain generously juiced on creative steroids—and this was before our special splice-and-be-damned bricolage of the tapes, interpolating into the jams a pastiche of Morricone lock grooves, early Sparks, radio fragments, a JFK speech and samples...

LP $17.50

10/23/2015 857176003539 

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MP3 $9.90

09/25/2015 857176003539 

 


FLAC $11.99

09/25/2015 857176003539 

 


Prior to forming Liquid Liquid in 1981, the band members were in two other groups: Liquid Idiot and Idiot Orchestra. While these ensembles sounded more experimental than groove-oriented, the beginnings of Liquid Liquid’s spatial / conceptual framework can be heard here.  Liquid Idiot started at Rutgers University in the late ’70s and soon relocated to NYC where they performed at various lofts and clubs including Tier 3, Mudd Club and CBGB. The band even encouraged audience members to bring their own instruments to their early shows. Idiot Orchestra was an offshoot that included a dozen or more players (clarinet, sax, trumpet, violin, cello, synth, bass, marimba and drums) resembling a no wave version of Raymond Scott’s big band.  As musician and artist Richard McGuire recalls, “We weren’t trying to sound like anyone. We weren’t imitating anyone. We were just playing. I keep using ‘outsider art’ as a reference to what we were doing. None of it was made for a market; it wasn’t made with any intention other than the enjoyment of making it.” This split archival LP collects two rare 7-inches from 1978 and 1980, both of which were originally pressed in hyper-limited editions and self-released by the bands. The package also features a fanzine of ephemera, rare photos and new interview with McGuire.

LP $16.00

08/21/2015 857176003911 

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MP3 $9.90

08/21/2015 857176003911 

 


FLAC $11.99

08/21/2015 857176003911 

 


***BACK IN STOCK!!!  Received a perfect 10 rating from Pitchfork.  Liquid Liquid continued toward dance-floor perfection with their third EP. 1983's Optimo features the band's best-known songs and remains a high water mark for post-punk aficionados. The title track positively erupts when the bass enters, forcing even the stiffest person in the room to move. While it would be an understatement to say that "Cavern" may sound familiar (due to its gross sampling in Grandmaster Melle Mel's "White Lines"), Liquid Liquid were indeed the originators of this iconic New York riff.

12" $13.00

08/21/2015 857176003904 

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Liquid Liquid emerged from New York City's vibrant Downtown scene in 1981. Formed by drummer Scott Hartley, bassist Richard McGuire, vocalist Sal Principato and marimba player Dennis Young, the group cut their teeth in underground clubs and street art circles before solidifying their trailblazing style—a fusion of irresistible basslines, junkyard percussion and urgent, free-flowing lyrics. Their three EPs, all originally released on legendary 99 Records, would heavily influence dance-oriented indie rock of the early aughts (LCD Soundsystem, DFA Records et al.). Their eponymous debut establishes Liquid Liquid's uncompromising vision, from its startling black-and-white sleeve design to the minimalist grooves found within. While Principato's striking pitch-shifted shouts on "Bell Head" lead hypnotic circular rhythms, "Rubbermiro" brings in dub-inflected melodica and Richard Edson (Sonic Youth, Konk) on trumpet, closing appropriately in a locked-groove.

12" $13.00

08/21/2015 857176003881 

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Successive Reflexes by Liquid Liquid

Liquid Liquid

Successive Reflexes
Superior Viaduct

Following their debut in 1981, Liquid Liquid wasted no time with their second release the same year. Successive Reflexes picks up where the previous EP leaves off with "Lock Groove," a slow-paced deconstruction of Fela Kuti and Can that shows how quickly the band was able to capture their stripped-down approach in the studio. "Push" drives forward with unapologetic funk, yet still sounds utterly unique. Like their 99 labelmates ESG, Liquid Liquid created music on their own terms and artfully avoided the trappings of any single genre.

12" $13.00

08/21/2015 857176003898 

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***BACK IN STOCK!!! In the late ’70s, The Avengers established themselves as one of the US’s preeminent punk bands. Fusing incisive guitar hooks, explosive rhythms and adolescent venom, the group forged some of the most in-your-face songs of the era. Their live shows were legendary, playing up and down the West Coast and even blowing Sex Pistols off the stage at the latter’s final performance. As Byron Coley writes in the liner notes, “Of the best bands of San Francisco’s first wave in 1977, The Avengers were by far the coolest and youngest sounding. They roared without irony, as though this were indeed Year Zero (and, for a moment, it was), with history being overwritten by the new. The honesty of their belief was carried by their sound. And it was convincing!” Originally released in 1983, four years after the band’s dissolution, The Avengers’ self-titled LP is often referred to as “The Pink Album” for its magenta-hued cover design. Frontwoman Penelope Houston’s iconic voice and razor-sharp lyrics resonate on anthems “We Are The One” and “The American In Me,” while penetrating ballads like “Corpus Christi” reveal a truly out-of-body euphony. The Pink Album remains The Avengers’ definitive statement—collecting their classic Dangerhouse EP, sessions recorded with the Pistols’ Steve Jones and a half-dozen revelatory demos. While much has been written about The Avengers in the past three decades, rock critic Greil Marcus puts it succinctly, “The word I always come back to is mystical, and that remains almost theirs alone.”

CD $16.00

08/21/2015 857176003768 

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LP $22.00

12/04/2015 857176003775 

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Universal Consciousness by Coltrane, Alice

Coltrane, Alice

Universal Consciousness
Superior Viaduct

Originally released on Impulse! in 1971, Universal Consciousness is a major turning point in Alice Coltrane’s momentous career. While her previous albums pushed the limits of spiritual free-jazz and featured much of her late husband’s band, Universal Consciousness expands the harpist / pianist’s compositional palette with organ and strings (working with Ornette Coleman). “Oh Allah” is the finest example of Coltrane’s new direction: tense violins dissolve into sublime organ solos and exquisite brushwork from long-time Miles Davis collaborator Jack DeJohnette. While the title track undulates with a fierce clamor, “Hare Krishna” showcases Coltrane’s uncanny ability for transcendent and slow-paced arrangements.  In The Wire’s “100 Records That Set the World on Fire,” David Toop writes, “[Universal Consciousness] clearly connects to other dyspeptic jazz traditions—the organ trio, the soloists with strings—yet volleys them into outer space, ancient Egypt, the Ganges, the great beyond. The production is astounding, the quality of improvisation is riveting, the string arrangements are apocalyptic rather than saccharine, the balance of turbulence and calm a genuine dialectic that later mystic / exotic post-jazz copped out of pursuing. Her lack of constraint was dimly regarded by adherents of ’70s jazz and its masculine orthodoxies, yet Alice deserved better credit for virtuosity, originality, and the sheer will power needed to realize her vision.” This first-time vinyl reissue has been carefully remastered from the original master tapes.

LP $22.00

07/10/2015 857176003706 

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ZNR was the French duo of Hector Zazou and Joseph Racaille (hence, Zazou ’n’ Racaille) active in the mid to late ’70s. Their 1976 debut, Barricade 3, is an anti-pop masterpiece that truly defies categorization; it makes perfect sense that ZNR appears on the infamous Nurse With Wound list.  Featuring an array of seemingly dichotomous instruments (piano, synthesizers, woodwinds, electric guitar and more) as well as genuinely bizarre vocals, the album is composed of fifteen odd experiments using a loose framework of analog electronics, avant-garde rock, jazz influences, and post-structuralist études.  As The Shadow Ring’s Graham Lambkin writes, “The debut ZNR LP has long remained one of my all-time faves. A collision of eccentric Satie-esque miniatures, strange keyboard / synth explorations and the occasional song, delivered in a mixture of French and Spanish tongues. I always think of the creepy, over-ripe vocals on ‘Seynete’ as one of the LP’s most memorable moments, but there are many.” Despite its schizophrenic mystique, Barricade 3 is very witty and surprisingly accessible with hints of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers and Perrey-Kingsley. This long out-of-print vinyl reissue reproduces the original gatefold design including illustration by Don Van Vliet.

LP $20.25

05/26/2015 857176003713 

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The Germs' debut 45 is often cited as the first true Los Angeles punk record. "Forming," the first song written by Darby Crash and crudely recorded in guitarist Pat Smear's parents' garage, captures the band's cultish allure and crushing lack of musicianship. The B-side track, "Sex Boy," was recorded live on the set of Cheech & Chong's Up In Smoke. As Claude Bessy gushes in Slash magazine in 1977, The Germs are "beyond music ... mind-boggling ... inexplicably brilliant in bringing monotony to new heights." This reissue comes with original sleeve design and lyric sheet. Limited edition green vinyl.

7" $9.75

05/19/2015 857176003799 

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Following their groundbreaking collaboration with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Comme à la Radio, Areski and Brigitte Fontaine began recording almost exclusively together as a duo. Originally released in 1973, Je Ne Connais Pas Cet Homme is their first record billed under both names. Deeply rooted in North African and European folk traditions, the album features evocative vignettes with breezy vocals and minimal accompaniment of classical guitar, strings and woodwinds.  As always, there is a mercurial quality to their lyrics. The title track (translated as “I Do Not Know This Man”) suggests at once Apostle Peter’s denial and a poetic acknowledgement. On “C’est Normal” Fontaine playfully questions the status quo while Areski offers satirical answers. What makes Je Ne Connais Pas Cet Homme one of their best-loved albums, though, is its remarkable sense of intimacy—as if Areski and Fontaine beckon listeners into their strange and beautiful world. This first-time domestic release continues Superior Viaduct’s reissue campaign of Fontaine’s classic ’70s catalog.

LP $17.50

05/12/2015 857176003447 

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Since the mid-1960s, Jon Gibson has played a key role in the development of American avant-garde music. No other artist has performed in the world premieres of Terry Riley’s “In C,” Steve Reich’s “Drumming,” and Philip Glass’ “Einstein on the Beach,” three major works that changed the course of musical history. While his expertise on woodwind instruments made Gibson a go-to collaborator in Reich’s, Glass’, and La Monte Young’s ensembles, less known are his remarkable contributions as a composer and visual artist. Visitations, Gibson’s first release under his own name, originally appeared on the Chatham Square imprint in 1973. Inspired by the books of Carlos Castaneda, Gibson departs from the structured repetition of his minimalist peers and takes the listener on an aural journey—spanning organic field recordings, ambient flutes and synthesizers, and free-flowing textures. Visitations’ two side-long tracks are at once solemn and unsettling, making this an astonishing debut that firmly establishes Gibson as a pioneer in his own right.  This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of Cluster, Harold Budd and Phill Niblock.

LP $17.50

04/28/2015 857176003683 

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***BACK IN PRINT ON VINYL!!!  Bassist / composer Charles Mingus is one of the most radical figures in American music. Throughout the ’50s, he worked as a sideman with legendary players Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and more. In the ’60s, he gained recognition as a bandleader, often followed by controversy for making strong-minded statements in the press about race, politics and stodgy music critics. While Mingus received many honors posthumously as well as during his career, perhaps his greatest achievement was transcending the restrictive label of jazz. Mingus Plays Piano, released just a few months after his masterpiece The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady, is the only record to feature Mingus performing on his instrument of choice for composing. From the opening track, appropriately titled “Myself When I Am Real,” Mingus shrugs off any virtuosic pretensions of solo albums and stakes out more introspective territory. These trance-like, poetic musings reveal a tenderness rarely associated with Mingus, reminiscent of Erik Satie’s piano works and Art Tatum’s free rhythmic style. This long out-of-print vinyl release has been carefully remastered from the original master tapes.

LP $22.00

03/17/2015 857176003669 

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In 1980, after three relentlessly creative albums, the members of Wire were at an impasse, unsure of how to push themselves any further as a four-piece rock band. While frontman Colin Newman spent the band’s hiatus mining Wire’s knack for intelligent and contorted pop songs, guitarist Bruce Gilbert and bassist / vocalist Graham Lewis joined forces for a series of experimental projects (Dome, Cupol, etc.) where the primary motivating concept was “studio as instrument.” 3R4, the duo’s only LP under the B.C. Gilbert/G. Lewis moniker and the very second album to be released on 4AD, eschews melody and structure in favor of ambient-noise soundscapes, metallic textures and tense moods. If the brief “Barge Calm” tracks appear like sonic exercises, the longer pieces (“3. 4…” and “R”) are true exorcisms, conjuring supernatural found-sounds with the patience and deliberation of (un)holy men. Play this record loud and try not to think that it is the soundtrack to a lost David Lynch film. This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of Faust, David Cunningham, and Thomas Leer & Robert Rental’s The Bridge.

LP $17.50

02/17/2015 857176003638 

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