B.E.F. (post-HUMAN LEAGUE / pre-HEAVEN 17) - 'Music For Stowaways'- out 21 April 23
LP Yellow £20 | LP Black £20 | CD £10

   

The first reissue of seminal early 1980's electronic recordings from the British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.), aka HEAVEN 17 / ex-THE HUMAN LEAGUE's Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, with Adi Newton (CLOCK DVA / THE FUTURE), and John Wilson (HEAVEN 17), originally a cassette-only release (1981).

• Ltd x 500 copies on 180g Yellow vinyl (via Cold Spring only)
• 180g Black vinyl
• CD in digipak

Following two groundbreaking albums ('Reproduction' and 'Travelogue'), the original line-up of Sheffield-based The Human League split in half in late 1980. The two primary musicians in the group, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, formed a new production company - the British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.) - and signed a deal with Virgin Records to write and produce up to six albums a year. The artists they were to produce would include Heaven 17, their own new band formed with vocalist Glenn Gregory.

B.E.F. would also release their own material, commencing with the music on this collection, which was issued in various permutations in 1981-82. Its initial release in March 1981 was a limited edition numbered eight song cassette entitled 'Music for Stowaways', with 'Stowaways' being a reference to the original name for the then-new Sony portable cassette player - later renamed the Walkman - of which B.E.F. were great fans. 'Music for Stowaways' was intended to be listened to on such a device. The cassette was followed by a seven song LP, 'Music For Listening To', which had a slightly different tracklisting, while other B.E.F. music was utilised for B-sides of early singles by Heaven 17.

This music was among the first recorded by Martyn and Ian directly after their departure from The Human League. Some tracks had evolved from other recordings they were working on at the time, such as 'Groove Thang' - an instrumental version of the debut single by Heaven 17 - and 'The Old At Rest', which derived from a version of 'Wichita Lineman' by Jimmy Webb, their very first recording with Glenn that would subsequently appear on B.E.F.'s 'Music of Quality and Distinction, Volume One' covers album in 1982.

Supporting musicians on 'Music For Stowaways' included Adi Newton of Clock DVA (who had been a member of The Future with Martyn and Ian pre-Human League) on the track 'Uptown Apocalyse', with John Wilson (who provided incredible guitar and bass for Heaven 17) appearing on 'Groove Thang'.

The innovative sounds heard on 'Music For Stowaways' were an inspiration to many aspiring electronic artists. In 2015, Uncut magazine included it in a list of the '50 Greatest Lost Albums of All Time'.

SLEEP RESEARCH FACILITY / LLYN Y CWN - 'Sargo / Posidonia' - out 7 April 23
Ltd LP £17 | CD £9

        

The ultimate deep listening experience from two masters of dark ambient. A slow descent into the blackened watery abyss, where light cannot reach.

The first release from Sleep Research Facility since 2012's "Stealth" (Cold Spring) is inspired by the deep sea ocean floor. The Canadian-based composer explores notions of awareness and perception in the sub/unconscious listener. Focusing primarily on sound bereft of rhythm based energies, SRF provides an environments wherein the music adds texture to the silence. Using form without structure and concentrating on space as opposed to narrative, SRF entertains the idea that music can reside in the very fabric of sound itself. The brand new material here was created specifically for this split release.

Taking inspiration from the beautiful, but often harsh landscapes and environments of his home on Anglesey, North Wales, Llyn Y Cwn has built on the nautical theme of "Du Y Moroedd" (Cold Spring). These tracks are based on field recordings relating to the ocean, and could be seen as a companion piece to the album. 'Dale Dawn' features a recording of the dawn chorus made from the floating pontoon at Dale, Pembrokeshire. 'Pebble' includes the sound of waves crashing on a Dorset cobble beach, thousands of rocks colliding in chorus. 'Doppler Current Profiler' is based on the sound of an ADCP, an acoustic sonar instrument used to measure water currents - a 600Khz ping slowed to a heartbeat.

Limited Edition LP on audiophile black vinyl for best sound presentation. CD in mini-LP sleeve, replicating the vinyl design. The artwork features a separate front cover design with individual art for each side, making this a true split release.

PSYCHIC TV - 'Those Who Do Not' - out now!
CD £11.50 | 2LP Red £32 | 2LP Black £28

        

Double 180gm vinyl in glossy gatefold sleeve:

• Ltd x 230 copies on red vinyl - via Cold Spring only. LAST COPIES!!
• Ltd x 230 copies on white vinyl - via independent record stores only.
• Standard black vinyl edition.

CD in glossy digipak with 12-page booklet.

All orders direct from Cold Spring come with an exclusive artcard.

The sound of the classic period of PSYCHIC TV- featuring Peter Christopherson and Geff Rushton (John Balance) of COIL. These recordings are ov a live disconcert by PSYCHIC TV in Reykjavik, Iceland that took place November 1983, organised by HÖH and GRAMM Records, with proceedings opened by BJÖRK's band KUKL.

PSYCHIC TV at their most esoteric, their most ritual, and often most extreme; a perfect accompaniment to the legendary 'Dreams Less Sweet' album of the same year.

This full show is interspersed with recordings of the Pagan marriage between Genesis and Paula P-Orridge conducted by Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson Allsherjargodi. "Thee First Will To And Testament Ov Psychick TV. All our works remain interconnected, interfaced, and intentional. Thee Process is thee Product".

Out of print for 23 years, this is the ultimate edition for Psychick Youth - meticulously remastered, with the track order finally arranged into what was the original show.

EDWARD KA-SPEL (THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS) - 'Permission To Leave The Temple' 10" (Lumberton Trading Company) - £16

"A note from the future to prove it exists". The brand new mini-album from the prolific stalwart of experimental music, cut from those many folds where avant-garde abstraction locks horns with molten psychedelia, kosmische sounds, electronica and an approach to songwriting never afraid to go wherever the mood takes. Attached to all of this are Edward Ka-Spel's words, where wry everyday observations can mutate or be twisted into new forms given a distinctive surrealist slant. "Ka-spel tells his story/poetry and packs it with psychedelic coloured sounds. Joyful, over the top, reflective and personal... However grim the world may be, there is always a ray of light in the music... a display of Ka-spel's talent to paint stories with sound and words... another great one" (Vital Weekly). Five tracks (27 mins), mastered by Sion Orgon. Ltd x 500 copies in full-colour sleeve.

FABIO ORSI - 'Find Electronica' CD (A Silent Place) - £7

"Find Electronica" sees Italian soundscaper / audio alchemist Fabio Orsi conjuring up some hushed delicate beauty; a sort of hazy, otherworldly fuzzy drift. Warm, slowly whirling melodies blurred into long lazy drones, the layers constantly shifting, gorgeous overtones surfacing here and there, melodies buried and revealing glimpses now and again through the hushed lush shimmer of these tracks. A strictly personal exercise on the "Weird Folk" theme, here "found" electronica meets the humoral sonorities made by the six chords, projecting enchanted landscapes on a vibrant horizon, with an intimate sensibility, abstract and emotional, deep and dreamy. Gatefold digisleeve.

FARYUS & VADIM BONDARENKO - 'Quiet Songs From Misty Places' Enhanced CD (Silentes) - £8

Frail and delicate ambient atmospheres, clusters of rarefied piano notes lying on discreet drones, soft and evanescent clarinet riffs, suggesting and catching natural sounds. Light and ethereal pastel-coloured musical plots over eight tracks. One hour of suspended and quiet sonic passages, flowing like a discreet background, or to listen/see in a passionate mood, dreaming in silence, lying in gloom. Wonderful ambient stuff from these two Russian artists in the same vein of some of Harold Budd's works. Faryus in the past has also crafted an album in collaboration with Robert Rich. Comes with a bonus video track 'Dancing In MIsty Places', directed by Alexander Sveshnikov.

GENDER TROUBLE - 'Chokehair' CD (Dark Vinyl) - £11

Gender Trouble is R. Loren (Pyramids / Sailors With Wax Wings / White Moth) and Faith Malimba (Black Doll), along with guest collaborators including Kenneth Parker and Ashley Scott Jones, and vocal spots by Marissa Nadler, and Scout Pare Phillips. "Chokehair explores the much ignored / maligned / ignored genre of Harsh Noise Wall through the prism of noise, techno, and the spectacle. Gender Trouble is static and synth and more static, waves and waves of static, and rejection of music and rejection of nihilism, but with a decent beat you can (but won't) dance to. Indebted equally to The Rita and Tiesto, I feel confident that if Little Richard was conceived in 1990, this is the music he'd be making today". 6-panel digisleeve.

GRUNTSPLATTER - 'The Aberrant Laboratory' CD (Dark Vinyl) - £11

This album finds Gruntsplatter (aka Scott Candey of The Corvidae Cabal) exploring more dark ambient and disorienting planes in an effort to contextualize the ramifications of renegade science and deviant medicine. Framed against a somewhat literary backdrop, it is one of the more concrete conceptual works from the project and creates a different kind of listen than past releases. The familiar components of the sound that has sustained Gruntsplatter for the last 10 plus years are intact, and are perhaps at their most effective in allowing the listeners thoughts to wander with this outing. Brooding death ambience, and cutting frequencies combine with odd melody and an enveloping, fluid mix that lead you through the dirty laboratories and hovels of taboo science where genius and atrocity meet on level ground.

NOSESOUL - 'Ethik Blues / Winterbirds Helped The Passengers' CD + DVD (Silentes) - £10

A fascinating album of ambient music that straddles the worlds of comfortable quiet sounds that continually morph and expand, and darker, more introspective tones that arouse a more turbulant and mysterious character. Atmospherics for nightfall; huge, enveloping soundscapes that completely overtake the senses. "Ethik Blues" is the soundtrack to the accompanying DVD "Winterbirds Helped The Passengers" - a truly wonderful movie by Francesco Paladino. One hour of pure sonic bliss to completely lose oneself in. Evocative dronecore infused with subtle vocal elements, featuring musicians: Opium, Sean Breadin (Metgumbnerbone / Masstishaddhu / Sedayne), Francesco Paladino & Massimo Marchini (both of A.T.R.O.X.), Sylvi Alli and more. A milestone for ambient / isolationist music lovers.

INCAPACITANTS - 'Feedback Of N.M.S.' 2 x LP (Urashima) - £32

One of the best noise bands to ever come out of Japan, Incapacitants was formed in 1981 in Osaka as the solo project of Toshiji Mikawa (Hijokaidan). He later moved to Tokyo, where he joined with Fumio Kosakai (Hijokaidan, C.C.C.C.) to make Incapacitants a duo. They released their first album "Feedback Of N.M.S." on CD on Alchemy Records (1991). Comprising three tracks of visionary expression - incorporating elements of junk metal, modular synthesis, hand-made noisy objects, and real-time instrumental and vocal improvisation - it encounters each artist entering a new stage of their career, harnessing the challenges posed by the other as a means to drive toward new creative unknowns. Central to this is the pair's unique approach to structure and form, in addition to their chosen instruments and electronics. The incredible tracks vary from expansive textures and tones, constrained electronics, site specific resonance, and complex harmonic interplay, that consistently rethink the terms of noise, infusing it with tension, dissonance, and a deeply emotive, human touch. "Feedback Of N.M.S." is an absolutely masterful piece of work, threaded with risk, ambition, raw immediacy, and precision. Ltd x 299 copies, with six cards reproducing Takuya Sakaguchi's original drawings and adding an unreleased drawing and extensive notes in Japanese and English.

DØDSMASKIN - 'Herremoral | Slavemoral' 2 x LP (Malignant Records / Ant-Zen) - £30

Norwegian Death Industrialists Dødsmaskin present their sixth full-length album - a 10-track behemoth divided into two thematic parts based around Friedrich Nietzsche's thinking on master-slave morality. Having relied heavily on industrial aesthetics as a consistent keystone in the past, this element is now more pronounced than ever, resulting in a recording that embodies what is arguably the duo's most extreme and overall ambitious effort to date. Furthermore, in order to visually connect the album concept with their core creative process - the immersion of analogue and digital audio sources into specific phases of sonic colouring - experimental photographer Raina Vlaskovska was commissioned for the artwork, utilising a specialised technique to create imagery known as chemigrams and provide "Herremoral | Slavemoral" with nothing short of a stunningly perfect armature. Ltd x 200 copies in a glossy full colour gatefold sleeve with digital download-code.

DAWN & DUSK ENTWINED - 'When I Die Burn Me In The Clothes Of My Youth' CD (Dark Vinyl) - £12

The new studio album from Dawn & Dusk Entwined features special guest appearances by Patrick Leagas (Sixth Comm) and Hélène Carpentier. Since their 1999 debut on World Serpent, Dawn & Dusk Entwined have become something of heroes for fans of dark folk and darkwave sounds. Musically, the morbid mood here remains predominant, but alternates with analogue / electronic passages, creating an 80's soundtrack that feels dark folk and dark ambient, but at the same time, thanks to the voices of Patrick and Hélène, has a touch of Post-Punk reminiscent of 80's Darkwave. In the end, however, David's familiar voice assures us that this is indeed a Dawn & Dusk Entwined album. A must for fans of Dernière Volonté, King Dude, Sixth Comm, Sol Invictus, Current 93, Death In June. Ltd x 500 copies in a 6-panel digisleeve.

HIJOKAIDAN - 'Zouroku No Kibyou' LP (Urashima) - £24

"Zouroku No Kibyo" was the first album by Hijokaidan, released in April 1982. It's a compilation of live recordings from 1981, when the extreme performances of Hijokaidan first attracted attention. It was first released on Osaka's Unbalance Records and came to be regarded as a historical masterpiece of independent recordings in Japan, later being reissued onto CD by Alchemy Records. "Zouroku No Kibyo" sits at a fascinating juncture between space-harsh progressive, improv and noise, years ahead of its time when it first appeared, now one of the great holy grails of Japan noise. Creatively thrilling - filled with emotive highs and lows - it's a crucial piece in the puzzle of Japan's wild and wonderful history of noise music. A truly stunning, visionary expanse of texture and tonality - pushing noise practice and the very notions of language into uncharted realms, improvising with ferocity and erupting chaos. Superbly pressed with full remastering for this 40th anniversary vinyl edition by Nobuki Nishiyama, that brings as close as possible on analogue format the stunning original audio master. The release also features the original iconic cover art with drawing by Hideshi Hino, plus all the inserts that were on the original 1982 LP: a live photo book (two A3 double-sided, folded), one Japanese sheet and a lucky triangle card exclusive to this edition, plus extensive liner notes by JOJO in Japanese and English, and a 40th anniversary sticker. It's hard to call anything to mind quite that sounds quite like this. Truly brilliant and an inevitable revelation for anyone yet to encounter this body of work, "Zouroku no Kibyo" is a mind-blowing archival release. Ltd x 299 copies. Needless to say, very few copies in stock!

SISSY SPACEK - 'BMW' MCD Metalized (Gilgongo Records) - £12

A screeching smash of searing grit and demolished shock from the trio of Phil Blankenship (LHD, The Cherry Point), Charlie Mumma, and John Wiese. BMW stands as a sharp-edged monument in the trio's advancing decay, culled from a session at Blankenship's high-security Bronson studio and utilizing the equipment and environment that fueled sessions by LHD, White Gold, and The Cherry Point. Limited edition, partially metalized 'minimax' CD housed in a 6-panel digipak, featuring a series of detailed collages by Wiese.

KALLABRIS - 'Red Circle' LP (Auf Abwegen) - £19

Though severely cut, "Red Circle" doesn't exactly sweep along. It has a deliberate pace as Kallabris sets up the score of thirteen chance acquaintances who plan and carry out the sacking of our acoustic consciousness... Understatement is the method of these compositions for a small modular synthesizer. "All these chance acquaintances are reduced and minimal(istic): you hear a creaking, in between you can hear both whimpering and water-like sounds... Perhaps one could imagine an alternate universe where one track here is a soundtrack for an early 70's sci-fi movie in which robots communicate with each other. Towards the end of the album you think you hear dark strings creating an eerie atmosphere. These tracks illustrate quite well what is apparently possible with concentration on just one instrument" (African Paper). Ltd x 200 copies in a hand-stamped silk-screened natural card cover. Comes with download card.

ADRIANO VINCENTI & PAOLO BANDERA - 'Ossido Di Cromo (Anamnesi Mediatica Ricostruttiva)' CD (Steinklang) - £12.50

Adriano Vincenti (Macelleria Mobile Di Mezzanotte, Cronaca Nera, Pain Injection) and Paolo Bandera (Sigillum S, Iugula-Thor) present a tribute to that mighty tape format. A homage that unites a more modern medium and technology with the traditional methodology and technology of cassette tapes. In the truest traditions of the industrial underground, the album borrows, cannibalises and adapts material from others (for example Maurizio Bianchi and Metadrive) to create experimental sounds all their own. The history of the industrial underground is heavily present in the source material: the oldest recordings are from the mid-80's. The result is an album of experimental, challenging and adventurous industrial electronics; a throwback to an era before industrial electronics had fragmented to dozens of smaller niches. Experimental underground electronics as its purest and finest. "Chromium Bi-Oxide, a lavish taste of exciting particles: from your ears to your eyes to your mouth to your skin". Ltd x 150 hand-numbered copies in a 6-panel glossy digipak with 24-page booklet.

INANIS YOAKE - 'How Things Seem' CD (Dark Vinyl) - £12

Formed in 2020, Inanis Yoake (Simone Skeleton + Risa Hara) is a London-based Darkwave / Dark Folk / Post-Punk band. Their debut album "Summer Silence" (Hau Ruck! SPQR, 2021) was characterized by a unique melancholic and atmospheric sound with ethereal and dark folk influences. "How Things Seem" is their second, more explosive album and features collaborations with established musicians such as Matt Howden (Sieben), Tony Wakeford (Sol Invictus), Toshi JC (The Professionals), Emiko Ota (Oxz), Vivienne Cure, and others. Ltd x 400 copies in a 6-panel digisleeve.

PARANOIA INDUCTA / SIMULACRA / SEALED IN BLOOD - 'Pulvis et Umbra Sumus' CD (Heerwegen Tod Production) - £11.50

Three projects with a love of dark ambient sounds lead straight into mental numbness and spiritual departure, to mental depths where you can find mesmerizing threads. Since 2003, Polish project Paranoia Inducta has delighted the audience with many kinds of ambient music. This time sedate and simple but at the same time a tangled knot of nostalgic and hazy sounds. Belgian project Simulacra (Miguel Boriau) traditionally presents slow drones interspersed with primitive sounds of anxiety. The one very long track here is pure darkness sprinkled with the purple of nothingness. Sealed In Blood is a misanthropic dark ambient act from Lower Silesia. Here we have two tracks based on live ambient sounds - the sounds of mines and forests which are a lonely journey to mystical places. It is music full of emotion and at the same time held in an atmosphere of anxiety with elements of nature. Over 70 minutes of dark melancholy and a must for lovers on minimalism.

ELLI RIEHL - 'Die Kornmuhme' LP SWAMP GREEN (Steinklang) - £24

"Die Kornmuhme" is the slightly revised and extended vinyl version of material presented on a CD split release in 2020 (with Mjøðr Ylgjar). The title is a reference to the Roggenmuhme of old Germanic folklore; a kind of cornfield demon, which could make the fields barren if not properly honoured... but through proper sacrifice could be entreated to provide a bountiful harvest. Steeped in both folklore and old legends, the music is at times eerie and ominous, at times mysterious, but also curiously playful, ranging from oddly disjointed, with psychedelic electric guitar and tribalistic percussion, to dark nature ambience, woodland industrial, slowed down animal noises and gnome ritualism. Die Kornmuhme evokes mental images of folklore and legend; before your minds eye, you can see pastoral fields and vast green seas of forests amidst rolling hills, and hear the weird processions and rites of all the woodland creatures of myth. The horns of the forest folk call to weird rituals in the middle of the endless forest, and mythical creatures become just as tangible as your fellow man. Contains two brand new and exclusive tracks. Ltd x 100 hand-numbered copies on swamp green vinyl. Sold out from the label!

KADAVER + PSYCHOSADIST - 'Toxicofera' CD (999 Cuts / Phage Tapes) - £12

Split album between two power electronics / harsh noise monsters - Kadaver and Psychosadist. A release full of crushed metal sounds and nauseating ruined-electronics. Kadaver is the one man harsh noise, death industrial and power electronics project from Israel's Michael Zolotov, active since 2003. Psychosadist is a cold and disturbed Power Electronics act from Germany, with structured soundscapes and noise harshness, and previous releases on Obsessive Fundamental Realism. Mastered by Grant Richardson (Gnawed). Digipak featuring sick original artwork by Carlos Dávila (Sodomy From Beyond).