Fire! is a Swedish trio comprising Mats Gustafsson (The Thing), Johan Berthling (Tape) and drummer Andreas Werliin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums). Fire! is where they go to stretch their instrumental skills and to play outside their comfort zones, or collaborate with prestigious guests (see their previous Rune Grammofon releases You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago [2009], Unreleased? with Jim O'Rourke (2011), and In the Mouth a Hand with Oren Ambarchi (2012). Fire! Orchestra takes the project to the next level: a sonic behemoth comprising 31 members that should be unmanageable, but turns out to possess the elegance and lucidity of the righteous free-jazz big bands of the past. Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra. Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill. Centipede. Sun Ra's Space Is the Place. Chris McGregor's Brotherhood Of Breath. Freddie Hubbard & Ilhan Mimaroglu's Sing Me a Song of Songmy. All these classic landmarks come to mind as you listen to their monumental Exit!. This album was recorded in January 2012 at the headquarters of Fylkingen, the legendary Stockholm avant-garde music center. But before you go thinking this is an impenetrable free-jazz meltdown, listen again. Exit! follows in these mighty footprints, but it's also an odyssey that takes its own route, with post-rock/Krautrock diversions along the way. There is a way in to Exit!, and the way out is clearly sign-posted. Fire! is all about burning up tradition and blazing new paths and fresh approaches in improvised music -- approaches informed equally by garage punk, electroacoustics and the noise of heavy industry. Throughout both long halves of Exit!, Mariam Wallentin and Sofie Jernberg chant ritualistic lyrics written by Arnold de Boer of Dutch avant-rock institution, The Ex. The text, he explains, is about concrete and non-concrete space, "and about the possibility of improvising in actual space, and the ties, ropes and teachers in many online spaces and programs.
 It's up to the various sorts of fire to define the real, irreal, surreal and unreal." Exit! might be a monotonous monolith of repetitive beats, or a tornado-eye of wild solos, but it has a point to make.

3-CD Set.

Pierre Favre's 1970s solo works are important mile­stones in the history of European jazz. Any discography of innovative recordings should include them, and their reissue is long overdue. However their significance is not simply as reference material of historical interest; with their effervescent creativity, they remain impressive and relevant listening even today.

Pierre Favre has opened up new spaces for himself and for us, where we can dance and reflect: dancing, turbulent thoughts; memories and visualisations; a game played with time and with the times. Pierre Favre takes us in search of sound; the percussionist as poet; the drummer as soundscape painter; the composer as storyteller; the improvisator as tight-rope artist, performing a balancing act.

From the Liner Notes by Bert Noglik

200-gram Hand Made Super Audiophile Vinyl in gorgeous MONO!

 

After the U.S. release of Are You Experienced and American tour dates that left jaws dropped, anticipation was very high about the next Jimi Hendrix album. Many fans and critics now consider this follow-up, Axis: Bold As Love, his best collective effort. Released in November of 1968, it immediately garnered high praise for its incredible performances and innovative engineering by Eddie Kramer. The album was to spawn many hits including Up From the Skies, If 6 Was 9, Spanish Castle Magic, Little Wing and Castles Made of Sand, among others. Again joined by Noel Redding's bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.

Remastered For the First Time Ever on 180g Vinyl in Celebration of the James Bond Franchise's 50th Anniversary!

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise which began in 1962 with Dr. No, the original motion picture soundtrack for the 1964 film Goldfinger is being remastered for the first time on 180g vinyl! Serving as the third film in the franchise and the first James Bond soundtrack to hit the #1 spot on the U.S. charts, the 10-song set features music composed, arranged and conducted by the prolific John Barry including the magnificent title song "Goldfinger," performed by Dame Shirley Bassey.