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“One of the key original French underground prog bands born out the 1960's. Maajun were the seminal roots of many other bands, not least their second incarnation as Mahjun.”

“Extract from my French Independent & Underground Obscurities article in Audion 56 (2010): Although on the trendy French pop label Vogue, Maajun were amongst the most underground of French underground bands.
Their debut outing was quite revolutionary: VIVRE LA MORT DU VIEUX MONDE (which means something like "Living the....

This title is released in a tiny physical edition of 100 copies!

Nick Macri
- electric and acoustic basses, electronics, percussion

“...combines jagged amplified bass and textural percussion into a boiling haze...gritty electronics with recorded vocalizations as he generates feedback and noise from his amp… melodic yet open-ended. Subtle processing gives certain passages a shimmering nature, with repetitive echoes and pulses touching on minimalism...At only 34 minutes...

Ken Vandermark – reeds
Christof Kurzmann - pooll/electronics
Jasper Stadhouders - electric bass
Tim Daisy - drums

“This is for sure no fake news! F4 Fake is the exciting new album by Made To Break, the gripping quartet of Ken Vandermark, mixing jazz, funky patterns, and electronics in groovy improvisations -- interrupted by abstract insertions. Recorded by Daniel Schatz, November 29 2017 at Primitive Studios, Vienna.“

This is a fine, totally professionally recorded progressive rock release from 1976, that somehow never made it out, until ProgQuebec discovered it and released it on CD, 40 years later. This is its first issue on vinyl and comes in a numbered, limited edition of 500 copies.
Like many of the other bands during Quebec’s golden age of progressive rock, there is a lot of influence from the major UK names and also a lot of influence from Gentle Giant (who, admittedly, were more popular in Quebec than...

"Four decades after his (first and) last solo LP, Teenage Sex Therapist Owen Maercks is back with a new one. Crazily, much of the same gang is on hand for Kinds of Blue. Guitarist Henry Kaiser was even the instigator of this project (as he so often is), suggesting it was time for Owen to cut the blues album they'd always talked about.
Saxophonists Larry Ochs (ROVA) and John Oswald (Plunderphonics) are also back to blow gorgeous squalls. There's a new rhythm section in town -- Doug Sovern on bass and..

Guitarist/composer/singer Owen Maercks was one of Henry Kaiser's first musical associates, meeting up with him while Henry was in college and had just started playing. He and Henry co-led the lengendary Monster Island, who released one vinyl EP in....

“Being presently the latest studio album of this interesting Welsh symphonic combo, led by keyboard wizard Rob Reed and fronted by notable singer Christina Booth, "Masters of Illusion" will not disappoint the band's followers in keeping high the instrumental, compositional and vocal standards for which they are well known. It results to be a really accomplished piece of work in that sense: the resemblance to the sound of Renaissaince still holds strong through the whole record, sustained above all by...

"Magenta's 2017 studio release - their seventh - marks a first for the band as it's the first album where the live and studio line-up are one and the same.
Featuring only three songs (including the 26 minute Trojan), We Are Legend represents a bold new step for the Progressive stalwarts.
Rob Reed says, 'It was time to try something different, musically and lyrically. I've always kept to a relatively small musical pallet with the previous albums, but I felt that we had reached a crossroads and...

Leon Calvert (trumpet)
Mo Foster (bass guitar)
John Girvan (guitar)
Les Hurdle (bass guitar)
Barry Morgan (drums, percussion)
Stan Reynolds (trumpet)
Ray Russell (guitar)
Barbara Thompson (saxophone, flute, clarinet)
Fiachra Trench (keyboards)
Roger Williams (trombone)

Previously unknown to me mid/late 70s Brit-jazz / jazz-rock project that is definitely in a similar vein (if a tad funkier) to others from the same era. Nice to hear this nearly 50 years l

Magma added three more female voices to the mix, and the singing is extra great on here. Additionally the over-all recorded sound seems a bit better over-all from the last few releses. The playing is also very strong, although my heart will always belong to Bubu...

“2020/2021.
More than 18 months without being able to play a gig. This space of time, this imposed "pause", was used to prepare a new album, a group album, working in a way we had not realized for a long time.
Following the..

“A limited edition (2,000 copies) hardcover box with 7 black vinyl LPs, and includes a 84-pages hardcover book, a wall flag, a facsimile of the original LP front cover, and a hand-numbered certificate of authenticity.

LP 1 "1972 – Maison De L'ORTF"
This is definitely one of the first recorded live versions of "MDK".
Recorded May 26th 1972 by Le Hollandais Volant.

LP 2 "1973 – Chœurs De L'Orchestre De La Storchhaus"
This studio recording can be regarded as a demo and

For 40 years, although this has been listed as a 'solo' release by Magma's founder, this is, for all intents & purposes, the fourth Magma album, having been released between M.D.K. and Kohntarkhoz.

Now, for this snazzy vinyl reissue, it's been rightfully renamed as being by MAGMA, and more importantly, features a clear photo from the film that this was a soundtrack of (sort of - long story), and you can see for yourself how much the costumes predate GWAR by 15 years!

Stripped down to...

This amazing document has been lying in the archives at Radio Bremen for 40 years. A decade ago, when we were licensing a lot of material from Radio Bremen, I tried to get permission from the band to release this incredible show and they said 'no'. Why they said 'yes' to someone else a decade later, I don't know, but the world is a better place because of it!
This is the entire radio broadcast, featuring the touring version of the Köhntarhosz band:...

This was the 2nd release by the French band Mahjun (and the 1st of two with the same lack of a title!).

�Solid orange vinyl version. Edition of 200. First time vinyl reissue of the eponymous classic debut album by Mahjun, one of the most innovative French prog underground bands, on the productive Saravah label in 1973. Their music, as you can hear on tracks such as "Les Enfants Sauvages" or "Chez Planos", is a subtle mix of spiritual jazz, pop music, folk and avant-garde reminiscent of Full Moon..

This was the 3rd release by the French band Mahjun (and the 2nd of two with the same lack of a title!).

�Solid blue vinyl version. Edition of 200. On Mahjun's second eponymous album released by Saravah in 1974, percussionist Nana Vasconcellos joined the line up on the nearly 14 minute long track "La Ville Pue" and "Fin Janvier". Their politico folk-prog sound moved to an ethnic flavored psychedelic fusion. First time vinyl reissue of this classic and influential album.�...

"Souffle Continu Records presents the first official vinyl reissue of With (Junk-Saucepan) When (Spoon-Trigger), Mahogany Brain's 1971 debut album. This LP is the second in Souffle Continu's series of ten reissues from the catalog of the cult French...

“The second album from Finnish experimental band featuring members of the legendary Circle. Mahti are a Finnish four-piece group presenting a unique mixture of ambient-rock, electronic music and traditional Finnish-Karelian music.
Lengthy semi-improvisational pieces are built on top of complex, hypnotic grooves which are layered with opaque guitars and strangely soothing noise elements. In the heart of it all there's kantele, an ancient Finnish string instrument played by Hannu Saha, who has studied..

"Fresh off his tours supporting Mogwai and S U R V I V E, Majeure returns with a blistering EP of seemingly limitless synth textures and seemingly endless drum fills. Majeure – the solo moniker of Zombi and Contact cofounder, A.E. Paterra – has built a reputation as one of North America’s most interesting purveyors of synth-based rock music. Often overlooked is the fact that Paterra is also one of the world’s premiere prog-rock drummers, a fact that is emphatically obvious on Apex. Over the course of...

"Since he began moonlighting from his main gig as one-half of sci-fi prog powerhouse Zombi, multi-instrumentalist A.E. Paterra has become increasingly renowned as the mastermind behind Majeure. Following the assured debut epic, Timespan, his second...

"A decade ago, Zombi cofounder A.E. Paterra conceived his solo endeavor, Majeure. Released in 2009, the debut album, Timespan, took the term "full-length" quite literally - its 40-minute runtime filled by three epic, side-long journeys through time and space. It merged the sinister soundtracks of Vangelis and John Carpenter, the stately minimalism of Cluster and Ashra, and the relentless drive of Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre, delivering inspired sci-fi disco-prog of the highest caliber...

2019 Edition of 250.
"A lot of people flipped out over how amazing Mako Sica's last album, Ronda, was. Ronda was a 2LP set whereupon the Chicago trio collaborated with legendary local percussionist Hamid Drake. This pairing seemed like a natural to us, but for some reason people have been woefully unaware of Mako Sica despite the fact they've been releasing killer records for a decade, and playing live shows that submerge your brain in a sonic soup that recalls the Sun City Girls at their most...

“A psychedelic rock trio teaming up with a percussionist schooled in jazz, reggae and diverse musical traditions might signal an awkward, unsatisfying fit. In practice, however, it works beautifully”-Wire

“On both their composed material and free improvisations, Drake’s preternatural sense of groove gives a dramatic shape to even their most amorphous jams, adding waves of melody and atmosphere that feel inspired by 70s Miles Davis and moody guitar twang that falls into the general vicinity of the..

"Fantastic studio recording, caught by Taylor Hales at Chicago's legendary Electrical Audio, documenting the first full meeting of all the players on this album. Mako Sica, at this point in time revolve around the core duo of Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (electric trumpet, mandolin, electric guitar) and Brent Fuscaldo (vocals, electric bass, harmonica, thumb piano, gong, percussion). For this session, these two are joined once again by Chicago's always-revelatory percussionist, Hamid Drake, with whom they have...

“Malady, perhaps the finest current torchbearers of the Scandinavian Progressive Rock tradition, are set to release their third album Ainavihantaa (Perennially Verdant). Performing in their native Finnish language, Malady have already managed to acquire international cult following with their earlier albums Malady (2015) and Toinen toista (2018).
The new album on one hand continues in the same bold organic retrofuturist fashion they’re known for, while on the other the lineup addition of Taavi...

Early 80s German art-punk quintet who are fondly remembered by some!

An important part of Berlin music history, the line-up of Malaria! consisted of Gudrun Gut and Bettina Koster, Christine Hahn, Manon P. Duursma, and Susanne Kuhnke.

"... Always forward, never back: from West Berlin to London, Paris, New York and Tokyo... from here, there and everywhere to eternity, the Autobahn goes on forever, with Malaria! at the wheel, spinning new moves from timelines crossed in records and songs

“Features Argentine rock legends Nexus as the backing band. All analog recording to enhance the 1970's flavor

From the ashes of the mythical Argentine duo Sandhy & Mandhy—who recorded in 1969 the intensely rare and beloved album “Para Castukis”, a record suffused with beat and psychedelic influences—comes this resurrection by Mandhy of his "Celestial Stories."
Alberto Vanasco Jr. (Mandhy) resumes his musical tale with twelve tracks written between 1968 and 1978. Recorded with the analogue...

Limited, numbered edition of only 100 copies on white vinyl of the second Maneige album! This album, along with their self-titled first, are some of the greatest material to come out of the Quebecois progressive rock movement.

"This was the second Maneige album released in 1975. Featuring one of the great compositions of Quebec progressive rock, "Les Porches de Notre-Dame". There is not much else to say, as this is a stone classic of the Quebec scene up there with Harmonium, Pollen, Contraction...

Limited, numbered edition of only 100 copies on white vinyl of the fourth Maneige album!
Originally released in 1978, the group’s fourth album sees them going for a more jazz/fusion sound overall. Having already made waves in Quebec with their first 3 releases, this one is released with French and English titles to appeal to a larger audience, which it does, selling over 20,000 copies.

Limited, numbered edition of only 100 copies on white vinyl of the first Maneige album!
This album, along with their second, Les Porches, are some of the greatest material to come out of the Quebecois progressive rock movement.

"This was the first Maneige album released in 1975. It features the side-long track "Le Rafiot" and three medium-length tracks on (the original) side 2. Incredible chamber-rock crossed with prog and jazz, there are influences of Soft Machine and Frank Zappa's...

Limited, numbered edition of only 100 copies on white vinyl of the third Maneige album, in a beautiful gatefold sleeve!

Maneige were one of the very best known (and also the very best) Quebecois progresive bands of the 1970s. Founded in 1972 by classically trained musicians, they were a sextet of musicians who played a huge array of instruments, including piano, electric piano, synths, flutes, alto sax, guitars, bass, drums and percussion. Their first two albums were recorded for EMI/Harvest and...

Anthony Fleury: baritone guitar / organ / voice
Thibault Florent: guitar / organ
Etienne Ziemniak : drums

One long, developing 40’ mass of a album, this is at times comparable a bit with bands like Horse Lords and 75 Dollar Bill. “Erba Spontanea is an adventitious plant, a wild, almost hallucinogenic herb.
The four acts of this 40-minute play are an experience for the body and the senses. In the rumbling of the organ, the clawing of the two guitars and the tireless hammering of

Start off by dispelling any outmoded notions about taking things at face value � sometimes a DJ is not just a DJ, a record is not a record, and a turntable is more than a record player. These are the basic tenets with which to enter the world of ....

In the mid-70s, Mariangela Celeste signed to a major label (Polygram) at the age of 13. She would then go on to record her self-titled album with rising European superstar Vangelis. Though tragically overlooked upon its release, Mariangela is a gem of early electronic pop with sparkling synths, drums machines, and lush arrangements, propelling the songs of an unapologetically strong-willed Adolescent.
By 1972, Vangelis' band 'Aphrodite's Child' had earned widespread acclaim for their lavish...

“Chicago-based saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Vandermark was invited to arrange a set of seventies music for a concert in 2019, and among the pieces he chose were tracks by funk legends Parliament and post-punk iconoclasts DNA.
On this 12-inch 45rpm EP, Vandermark's band Marker presents a unique take on "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples," drawn from Parliament's 1975 LP Mothership Connection, and DNA's "Egomaniac's Kiss," which first appeared on the classic 1978 Brian Eno-produced collection No...

As another icon of the 60s would say, "Fascinating!". And check out the folks ON this thing. So weird, so odd, so much a thing that could have only happened in the 60s...and this is a 100% legit reissue!.

"This New York-based duo released their..

"Barring some miraculous discovery (never out of the question!), Mars Archives Volume Three: N.N. End is the final LP in our series of LPs documenting the music of New York's most amazing combo of the No Wave era, Mars. From their more-quotidian beginnings as China, whose sound was influenced by the Velvets and Television, Mars mutated and grew in a variety of nearly unchartable directions. N.N. End documents the latter, immaculate stages of the band's destruction of song forms once and for all....

"The second amazing volume (of three), compiled by Mark Cunningham after culling every known live tape of Mars, documents the band in its first fully-matured form. Recorded at CBGB and Max's in the early months of 1978, this captures the sound of Mars around the time their first single, '3E/11000 Volts,' was released by the French Rebel label (a precursor of ZE). They're still playing their early songs, and working out the material that would be on No New York (LR 102CD/LP). Two of the tracks ('Cairo'...

Really great album of somewhat glitchy ambient atmospherics; after hearing it, you will not be surprised that he was Jon Hassell’s roommate (see below!)

“Even if you've never heard of Hugh Marsh you've almost certainly heard the sound of his violin. He's a featured player on soundtracks by Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams, was nominated for a Juno award, recorded with Iggy Pop and The Stooges, and was in the backing band for Bauhaus' Peter Murphy, all a tiny fraction of his decades-long...

“This is the first official re-release on vinyl under licensed courtesy of BMG Rights Management, UK, remastered from an original master copy out of the vaults of BMG. The album was originally released in 1971 on Transatlantic, produced by Peter Bardens (Camel).
Marsipulami's sombre and slightly spooky flute-laden music, often evoking mythology, certainly was groundbreaking stuff and should've caught many more "underground public" ears. Side one: 'Prelude To The Arena' starts quite violently with...

Highly collectable and highly regarded early progressive rock band. This was the band's first album.

"This album, originally released in 1970 on Transatlantic, is made up of dark, foreboding music that touches upon the early prog scene (lots of organ, flute, electric guitar) but also throws in some folky passages and jazz experimentations as well. It is somewhat of a cross between bands like The Strawbs, Nektar, Jethro Tull, East of Eden, Atomic Rooster, and at times King Crimson."

...

“Seven long years separate La Maschera di Cera’s previous studio album (“Le Porte del Domani”, the ideal follow-up to Le Orme’s concept album “Felona e Sorona”) and “S.E.I.”, a great comeback for one of the key groups in the recent renewed interest for the glorious and unique Italian Progressive Rock of the ’70s. Warm symphonic atmospheres, Italian lyrics and a vocal style that often reminds the melodrama tradition: this is what has often characterized this musical genre and perfectly fit the band’s...

“Originally released in a very limited capacity in 2001, Maserati's debut album finally gets reissued to commemorate the band's 20th anniversary. Remastered from the original master tapes by Josh Bonati, 37:29:24 featured Maserati's original lineup of Coley Dennis, Matt Cherry, Steve Scarborough, and Phil Horan, and includes many of the most placid and medicative moments in Maserati's storied catalog - a darker, more pensive night drive than they would come to be known for on their later albums.”

Right after Henry Cow ended, Fred Frith moved to NYC. He played a little with people here and there and worked on his Gravity album, but Massacre - formed on Valentine's Day, 1980, and lasting until late summer 1981, was his first real post-Cow band.
Recorded mostly live in 1981, this pretty much helped to define the beginnings of the downtown scene, alongside such great and too much forgotten bands like The Decoding Society, Music Revelation Ensemble, Curlew, etc....

Håvard Nordberg Funderud – guitar
Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll – saxophone
Karl Erik Horndalsveen - double bass
Martin Heggli Mellem - drums

“Master Oogway are four young musicians aged between 23 and 26. They met at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2015 with a common desire to play vibrant, improvised music with strong themes and room for spontaneity at a high energy level. Like many players on the young, Norwegian progressive jazz scene their instrumental skills are already highly...

Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll saxophone
Håvard Nordberg Funderud guitar
Karl Erik E. Horndalsveen double bass
Martin Mellem drums

"Prepared for a new surprise coming from the Norwegian front? Master Oogway is a band with a Miles Davis feeling (and particularly the one of his Sixties records), a saxophone style rooted in the heritage of Ornette Coleman and the great free jazz original soloists, applied by tenorist Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll, and that kind of energy and distorted sound you.

Håvard Nordberg Funderud - guitar and 12-string guitar
Lauritz Heitmann Skeidsvoll – saxophone
Martin Heggli Mellem – drums
Karl Erik Hornsdalsveen - double bass
Henriette Eilertsen - flute

“Back in 2020, Kafé Hærverk, Oslo's live hotspot for a wide range of jazz and experimental music invited Master Oogway to do monthly concerts from August to December, bringing along a guest for each occasion. Two had to be moved to 2021 due to Covid restrictions, but the other three were...

This is a very obscure one from the NWW list! Licensed from Saravah. Gatefold sleeve; Obi strip; Edition of 500.

“Souffle Continu Records present the first ever vinyl reissue of Philippe Maté/Daniel Vallancien, originally released in 1972.
Although discrete, the career of saxophonist Philippe Maté includes nonetheless several indispensable albums: be it with the Acting Trio, Jean Guérin (Tacet), or Jef Gilson (Workshop), his collaborations in a big band or quartet with Lawrence "Butch"...

"Maxophone is a very important name within the vast world of Italian progressive rock. Like many other colleagues, they disbanded after only one self-titled LP, released in 1975; but thanks to that beautiful album, which at the time granted the band several live shows and even a few TV appearances, we can put Maxophone in the élite of the greatest Italian prog bands. After the recent comeback, we were still missing one piece: a new album consisting of original songs, which finally sees the light here...

"Maxophone is another band from Italy who released one album and dissapeared from the scene. Maxophone played complex progressive rock, and just like Banco or Gentle Giant, their influences ranged further than symphonic/ classical inspired rock only...

Steve Maxwell Von Braund: ARP2600, Mini Korg 500, Roland Strings, Ace Tone Rhythm Ace, Alto Saxophone
Gil Matthews: Drums (A2, B1, B2)
Mark Jones: Synthesizer (A4), Bass (A2, B1, B2)
Paul Howells: Synthesizer (B3)

A sequel to the cult 1975 Australian Space Rock album 'Monster Planet' by Steve Maxwell Von Braund. Previously unreleased tracks from the Cybotron founder. Will appeal to fans of Krautrock and Cosmic Electronic music.
On the cusp of the 45th anniversary of the...