RARE RECORDS CATALOGUE

3. BALI – Les Celebres Gamelans: “S/T” (Arion Records/ Trio Records Japan – PA-6049) (Record: Mint/ Jacket: Mint/ Obi: Mint/ Insert: Mint). Top copy Japanese edition of this originally released title on Arion Records in France. One difference here is the superior vinyl pressing and print work that comes with the Japanese edition. Ethnographic records sold poorly in Japan back in the day so it is almost a miracle that they still surface at all here. Top condition. The whole affair was recorded by ethno-musicologist Gerard Kremer in the early seventies and guides you to a wide range of gamelan frantic moves and swirls, augmented at times with gongs, bonags, sarons, kendangs, cymbals and other percussive havoc makers. Stunning recording quality that fully comes into fruitation on this excellent pressing. Top copy of course. Price: 25 Euro

4. LE CHANT DU MONDE – BERBERES DU MAROC: “Ahwach” (Le Chant Du Monde – LDX-74705) (Record: Mint/ Triple Gatefold Jacket: Mint). Stunning tribal Berber desert music. Ahwash is a Moroccan music style of art, the ahwach art consists of several people playing on the same rhythm while chanting, this is a famous style mainly in the south of Morocco and the mountain regions. Price: 50 Euro

14. ECHIGO NO GOZE UTA: “S/T” (CBS Sony – CODZ-1~3) (3 LP Set: Near Mint/ Box: Excellent/ Fully Illustrated Booklet: Near Mint). Massively important and jaw droppingly great 3 LP set that documents the music and culture of the Goze. Goze are these days all become extinct due to the 21 century catching up with their rural lifestyle, tradition and handicap. Goze were blind, itinerant female singers and shamisen players mainly active and traveling from one rural village to the next weather beaten hamlet. They were mostly active in the Niigata Prefecture. These blind women from Niigata were due to their handicap excluded from regular society and had to struggle to survive and the sole option they had in order to scrape some money together to get through the day was giving door-to-door performances of songs with shamisen accompaniment. (the rural blind were desperately poor and accorded few rights or privileges). The reason why these women limited their activities to mainly Niigata and not further north was that Tsugaru and Akita were poorer regions and more inhospitable than their home turf. These traveling blind women mainly made a living by singing songs known as kudoki bushi which were basically long narratives cast in a repetitive seven-syllabic meter. These songs often recounted melodramatic plots of double love-suicides or vendettas, mostly sung in a short strophic melody, punctuated by interludes on the shamisen and sometimes by comic lines spoken in a rapid-fire manner. However as time went by audiences grew tired of these long songs and Naniwa Bushi drifted into the repertoire, including a large variety of vocal styles ranging from lyrical singing to speech-like recitation. This stunning collection here captures the last of the Goze in action while roaming the countryside, focusing on the two last surviving groups of three women at that time, documenting a tradition that was dying out. The first group was named Takada Goze and consisted out of Sugimoto Kikue, Igarashi Shizu and Namba Kotomi. The second roaming group was called Nagaoka Goze and its members were Nakashizu Mise, Kaneko Seki and Kato Ise. The whole was recorded on the rood while they roamed from village to village and performed from door to door during July and November of 1971. The result is bone crushing and heart shriveling performances recorded in the field, wailing itinerant blind female performers armed with battered down and strummed out shamisens, riffing away and wailing songs into being in return for a cheap meal and a place to rest. This is some of the best music I have ever heard and since discovering them the Goze have ruled my waking hours and dreaming days. Now finally I can present one spare of this hard to track down box set. The whole affair was supported by Akira Aida, who also wrote the liner notes. Like you may know he was the one who managed Takayanagi, Abe and brought Bailey and Lacy to Japan. But here he is shouldering a disappearing tradition, trying in vein to keep modernity at hold and record the then last surviving performing Goze. Best disc in this time’s list, once you have heard this, the whole of your record collection will become utterly redundant. Fan-fucking-tastic!! Price: 125 Euro

22. FOLKWAYS – KURDISH FOLK SONGS AND DANCES: “S/T” (Folkways Records – FE-4469) (Record: Excellent ~ Near Mint/ Jacket: Near Mint/ 4 Paged Liner Notes: Near Mint). Original Folkways 1955 issue. As you might know, Kurdistan simply means the land occupied by the Kurds, it is not – nor has it ever been – a nation in the modern sense. The music on display here was recorded in the field way back in 1953. The majority of these songs here are tribal, sung by the Barzani tribe. The songs they bring forth deal with universal things such as love, troubles and war. The musical instruments are of the simplest of types, and consist mainly out of a two barreled reed flute and a skin head pottery drum. When playing the reeds, the cheeks of the player puff like a balloon, and the fingering of the holes on the barrels varies the notes pulsating in an almost constant stream. The drum on the other hand is hold under the elbow and resting on the lap of the player. It is played with a dexterous tatto of the fingers, knuckles and palms and the sounds emitted from the uncovered end of the drum may vary from a staccato rush to a dull resonant boom. They keep the beat of the dance while being accompanied by the reeds. All was recorded in the natural settings of a mountain valley giving it a more surreal dimension. Great!! Price: 40 Euro

39. GAGAKU – BUKKYOU ONGAKU – BIWA-ON: “S/T” (Victor – VP-3006-3007) (2 LP Set: Mint/ Outer Cloth Bound Box: Mint/ Inner Cloth Bound Book: Mint/ 64 Paged Bound Book on Heavy paper fully illustrated: Mint). Bloody rare collection in mint condition, original 1971 issue. Let me start of by saying that is 2 LP box is heavy, music wise as well as weight wise since it simply has a volume of 2.3 KG!! Eye-pooping collection that focuses on – like the title already suggests – at esoteric Japanese traditional music, in this case being Gagaku, Buddhist ritualistic music and Biwa escapades. The set begins with excursions in the sacred realms of Gagaku. Gagaku is the most ancient still living music form on earth and remained unchanged for 2 centuries long. Gagaku or Court Music, is performed mainly on Imperial ceremonies and is extremely mind lifting music that will take you farther than the best La Monte Young record ever will. The origins of Gagaku go back to ancient Chinese court music, which absorbed influences of Indian, Persian, Korean, Manchurian and Indo-Chinese music. However, today the music, in addition to its function as sacred music, is also being pursued as a highly refined art form itself. The instruments employed consist out of wind instruments (fukimono; ex. Sho, Hichiriki, Komabue, Ryuteki, Kagurabue), string instruments (or hikimono such as So, Biwa and Wagon) and percussion instruments (or uchimono, ex. San no Tuzumi, Kokko, Taiko, Shoko), creating an otherworldly atmosphere, unlike any other musical style. Superb. Excellent condition and very old recording. This is hardcore minimal music that even makes La Monte Young look like a rookie when being compared. If you come out unshattered and with your mind not yet complete zoned out, you get treated to a heavy set of Buddhist monks recitating and humming away while bashing away on gongs and other percussive rattles and shakes. Eerie vocal exclamations and shamanistic induced music recordings make up for their trip. Although some of their drone-filled recitations are deprived of any musical accompaniment, the whole affair does not fail to resonate out an intoxicating musical vibe. One can certainly say that their vocalizations are trance inducing and filled with sudden tempo changes, alterations in style, sped up with circular breathing and tonal irregularities and oddities that make this set a challenging listening experience. The Buddhist Music section is as intense as the Gagaku parts and it creates a sheer intense listening experience, balancing between environmental sound recordings, religious sonic attacks and minimal music excursions. It's these ritualistic stompings and hushed bits of chanting that stand amongst the highlights of this incredible field-recording document. The trance inducing sounds generated by monks is just intense, almost hypnotic in nature. Featuring skillful and moving polyphonic passages as well as many stripped down instrument accompanied sections and fully fletched percussion bashing with vocals that leave me time and time again in total awe of their haunting qualities and totally beautiful delivery. So in a way this music is sheer heaviness. But that is not all, the third section sheds some light on Biwa music and again you will be kicked in the butt by its power. Mercurial string batterings, heavy fretting, recitations, wailing against the moon, volcanic ragged and iconoclastic pre-punk moves, etc. Once you have lived through this set you will have to pick your jaw off the floor. One of the best sets ever devoted to the subject, this one just never turns up. Much acclaimed but seldom seen, this baby is a monster. Highest recommendation. Price: 200 Euro

42. HEIKEBIWA: “Heikyoku” (Philips – PH-7511~2) (2 LP Set: Near Mint/ Slip Case Box set: Near Mint/ Inner Gatefold Jacket: Near Mint/ Attached 14 paged illustrated booklet: Near Mint). Sometimes I even wonder why I keep on throwing pearls before the swine. This music is so unhip it will make you unpopular with your so-called friends within a couple of nano-seconds. Probably the whole of my list is compiled out of highly unpopular sounds. But then what do I care, I just trust my own ears and don’t give a fuck about what hipsters and taste makers try to force down my throat. So allow me to indulge myself in defending this unhealthy music policy. What we have here is three of the most – now deceased – biwa players of the last century, being Inokawa Kouji, Toizawa Masatomi and Mishina Masayasu. Here they perform a collection of narratives, songs and rites with biwa, a twentieth-century apparition of the medieval biwa hoshi. The representative pieces brought together here were recorded in diverse circumstances during the past decades leading up to the early 1970s. Most of the recordings here document performances for small groups of researchers and give the listener a sense of the strength of voice that those performers retained well into their eighties as well as illustrating the variety of vocal types and delivery styles. All is comprised out of extremely long and epical pieces, making this 2 LP box set a valuable addition to your collection if interested in field recordings, sounds from times long gone and extinct. This comes with the highest possible recommendation. Just beautiful early 1970s issue housed in a slip cased type box complete with box and 2 LP’s, this is definitely the shit, forget all the stuff writers and magazines hype you to, take a plunge into these deep unchartered waters and marvel at the beauty on display. Be warned though, it will alienate you from your closest friends because those morons will have nit a clue of what treasure cultural well you just have gained access to. Price: 75 Euro

44. IRAN: “Kodai Perushiya Teikoku no Dentou” (Philips/ Nippon Phonogram – PC-1541) (Record: Mint/ Jacket: Mint/ Obi: Mint). Descriptive notes (in Japanese) are on the back. Original Japan issue out of 1976. The whole affair was recorded and edited in Iran by Deben Bhattacharya in the early 1970s. A gemstone of a recording and one of my favorite releases ever but then again I am a sucker for music seeping out of the Tigris and Euphrates region. This disc presents a stunning selection of field recordings recorded in Iran by famed ethno-musicologist Deben Bhattacharya. A swirling early times ethnographic survey of Iran's musical heritage. Exploring both classical and folk traditions, the LP showcases instruments such as the dombak, santur (hammered dulcimer), ney (flute), kemanche (spiked fiddle) and sehtar (sitar), all in the hands of virtuoso masters from across the country. For those not familiar with Persian classical music, there is a whole series of modes called dastgah, each associated with a particular mood or emotion. In an age when the media bombards people with a fear of all things Iranian and Muslim, this recording provides information to the contrary - of the rich, complex and beautiful heritage of Persian culture, an unbroken civilization that spans thousands of years all the way back to Cyrus the Great! Just stunning. Price: 30 Euro

59. MUSIC IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM: “1. The Human Voice/ 2. Lutes/ 3. Strings/ 4. Flutes & Trumpets/ 5. Reeds & Bagpipes/ 6. Drums & Rhythms” (Tangent – TBX-601) (6 LP Set: Excellent ‾ Near Mint/ 6 Individual Jackets: Near Mint/ Outer Heavy Box Set: Excellent). Recorded by Jean Jenkins between 1970 and 1975 in places like Iraq, Bahrain, Algeria, Iran, Afghanistan, Morocco and Turkey, focusing on various ethnic moves in Arabian and Islamic music. Recorded in the field amongst Bedouins, nomads, farmers on the banks of the Nile, Turkish fishermen at the Black Sea and pearl divers in the gulf, this is undoubtedly one of the greatest series that documents Islamic music. Record was released in 1975 I believe and are hard to track down these days. Here you have a pristine copy. Go nuts, this is one of the most gloriously and mind lifting music to have been cut to vinyl. Descriptive liner notes explaining each take are included on the back. Price: 175 Euro

60. MUSIC IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM: “Vol. 1: The Human Voice” (Tangent – TGS-131) (Record: Mint / Jacket: Mint). Original 1976 press! Recorded by Jean Jenkins between 1970 and 1975 in places like Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Ethiopia, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. This was the first volume in the series focusing on the human voice as instrument of devotion in the Arab world and bringing forth this testament of Islamic music, one of the most astonishing sounds in the world. Recorded in the field amongst Bedouins, nomads, farmers on the banks of the Nile, Turkish fishermen at the Black Sea and pearl divers in the gulf, this is undoubtedly one of the greatest series that documents Islamic music. Record was released in 1975 I believe and are hard to track down these days. Here you have a pristine copy. Go nuts, this is one of the most gloriously and mind lifting music to have been cut to vinyl. Descriptive liner notes explaining each take are included on the back. Price: 30 Euro

61. MUSIC IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM: “Vol. 2: Lutes” (Tangent – TGS-132) (Record: Mint / Jacket: Mint). Recorded by Jean Jenkins between 1970 and 1975 in places like Iraq, Bahrain, Algeria, Iran, Afghanistan, Morocco and Turkey this volume focuses on the lutes like the Ud in Arabian and Islamic music. Recorded in the field amongst Bedouins, nomads, farmers on the banks of the Nile, Turkish fishermen at the Black Sea and pearl divers in the gulf, this is undoubtedly one of the greatest series that documents Islamic music. Record was released in 1975 I believe and are hard to track down these days. Here you have a pristine copy. Go nuts, this is one of the most gloriously and mind lifting music to have been cut to vinyl. Descriptive liner notes explaining each take are included on the back. Price: 30 Euro

63. MUSIC IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM: “Vol. 4: Flutes & Trumpets” (Tangent – TGS-134) (Record: Mint / Jacket: Mint). Original 1976 press! Recorded by Jean Jenkins between 1970 and 1975 in places like Rajasthan (India), Morocco, Turkey, Algeria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda, Turkmenia, Pakistan and Iran. This was the fourth volume in the series focusing on tow very different types of wind instruments. Flutes with their delicate haunting tone as they are used in religious music by the mystic orders where they help participants to attain a state of ecstasy – the trance where they are in direct communication with Allah. Then there are trumpets, that unlike flutes, are never heard alone in Moslem areas where they are now disappearing rapidly. They form the part of outdoor group of drums and shawms, calling people together to battle originally but nowadays usually to a wedding or a festival. Recorded in the field amongst Bedouins, nomads, farmers on the banks of the Nile, Turkish fishermen at the Black Sea and mountain shepherds tending flocks, this is undoubtedly one of the greatest series that documents Islamic music. Record was released in 1975 I believe and are hard to track down these days. Here you have a pristine copy. Go nuts, this is one of the most gloriously and mind lifting music to have been cut to vinyl. Descriptive liner notes explaining each take are included on the back. Price: 30 Euro

64. MUSIC IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM: “Vol. 5: Reeds & Bagpipes” (Tangent – TGS-135) (Record: Mint / Jacket: Mint). Recorded by Jean Jenkins between 1970 and 1975 in places like India, Turkey, Bahrain, Malaysia, Iran, Afghanistan, Algeria, Italy, Indonesia, Syria, Pakistan and Morocco. This stunning volume focuses on a wide variety of instruments with a beating reed held in the mouth, producing either a drone, clarinet like sounds, bagpipe kind of action or double-reed improvisations. Recorded in the field amongst Bedouins, nomads, farmers in Turkey, Moroccan Berbers and pearl divers in the gulf, this is undoubtedly one of the greatest series that documents Islamic music. Record was released in 1975 I believe and are hard to track down these days. Here you have a pristine copy. Go nuts, this is one of the most gloriously and mind lifting music to have been cut to vinyl. Descriptive liner notes explaining each take are included on the back. Price: 30 Euro

65. MUSIC IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM: “Vol. 6: Drums & Rhythms”. (Tangent – TGS-136) (Record: Mint/ Jacket: Mint). Recorded by Jean Jenkins between 1970 and 1975 in places like Afghanistan, Niger, India, Bahrain, Pakistan, Kurdistan, Algeria, Iran, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, Algeria and Morocco, this volume focuses on the drums and rhythm instruments like zarb, tabl, dholak, duff, tar, muruas, tabla, daira, qaraqeb, santur, mihbash and ghaita in Arabian and Islamic music. Recorded in the field amongst Bedouins, nomads, farmers on the banks of the Nile, Turkish fishermen at the Black Sea and pearl divers in the gulf, this is undoubtedly one of the greatest series that documents Islamic music. Record was released in 1975 I believe and are hard to track down these days. Here you have a pristine copy. Go nuts, this is one of the most gloriously and mind lifting music to have been cut to vinyl. Best one on this time auction. Has descriptive liner notes to all the sections on the back cover. Price: 30 Euro

66. MUSIQUE DU RAJASTHAN: “Au Pays Des Maharajas” (Arion Records – ARN-33763) (Record: Mint/ Jacket: Mint). Descriptive liner notes on the back. Original 1984 French pressing. Recorded in the field by Arion’s in house ethno-musicologist Gerard Kremer. Located in the East of India, Rajasthan is a semi-desert kind of place and is one of the biggest states within the Indian continent. This amazing collection sheds some light on the right musical tradition that reigned there, ranging from bewitching double flute tracks, to sarangi styled madness over to traditional chants. Definitely a head bending recording, original French pressing in top condition. Price: 20 Euro

68. NEGRO FOLKLORE FROM TEXAS STATE PRISONS: “Work Songs, Blues, Spirituals, Preaching’s, Toasts – Recorded by Bruce Jackson” (Victor/ Elektra – SJET-8142) (Record: Excellent ~ Near Mint/ Jacket: Excellent/ 12-Paged Booklet: Excellent). Rare Japanese press collection black Americans prison work songs. Chilling to the bone and swinging like a jack hammer wielding bat. A dead stone classic. Price: 70 Euro

69. NEGRO PRISON SONGS: “S/T” (Albatros – VPA8280) (Record: VG++/ Jacket: Excellent). Recorded by Alan Lomax in 1947. A collection of songs recorded at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in 1947. The best single document of the African American work song and field holler tradition.... The group work songs, while moving and excellent examples of the style, are by their nature less distinctive than the extraordinary solo performances like my favorites "It Makes A Long Time Man Fell Bad". These are all very powerful and all together richly African American.  "These songs belong to the musical tradition which Africans brought to the New World, but they are also as American as the Mississippi River. They were born out of the very rock and earth of this country, as black hands broke the soil, moved, reformed it, and rivers of stinging sweat poured upon the land under the blazing heat of Southern skies, and are mounted upon the passion that this struggle with nature brought forth. They tell us the story of the slave gang, the sharecropper system, the lawless work camp, the chain gang, the pen." --Alan Lomax. Price: 25 Euro

71. NI HON NO HOROGEI: “S/T – Focusing on Freak Show Artists surrounding the Tennoji Temple In Osaka” (Victor – SJX-2058‾62) (5 LP Set: Near Mint/ Cloth bound and covered box set: Near Mint/ 52 –paged Booklet: Near Mint/ Outer Carton Box which Functions as Obi: Excellent). The “Ni Hon no Horogei” series that Victor put out in the mid-seventies is certainly my all time favorite collection of deranged filed recordings, weird cultural oddities and over the top luxurious packaging. Such an elaborate project of in total 6 box sets could only be generated in a bubble infested economy, when record companies still had some time and money to waste on glorious projects that had absolutely no commercial potential whatsoever. These sets were mainly produced out of a documentary perspective and ended up mostly in the racks of libraries and research institutions. Very few copies hit the streets and the one that did were largely ignored by the public, following in most boxes being withdrawn and eventually melted down again. This set here focuses on a very interesting side of a long vanished piece of folk culture – the monthly market to take place at the Tennoji Temple in Osaka – a piece of rural oddities to assemble there in those early years following the end of WWII. Splattered over 5 LP’s, a wide variety of singers, charlatans, snake manglers, poison mixers, side show freak shows, midgets, fortune tellers, kimono clad dancers, Buddhist itinerants, hookers, cheap thrill seekers, traveling story tellers, shamisen performers, ghost callers, geta sellers, religious show-offs, witches, snake wrestlers, insect gogglers, amazed spectators, deformity side show dwellers, voodoo-esque chicken mutilators, butoh-like chicken slaughter by freakish women, roaming blind shamisen performers, transvestites, etc. They all pass the revue, putting on display right before your eyes that unfolds itself as a time-warp kind of experience beamed down out of a Japan that no longer exists. This set is one of the hardest in the series to track down. Its contents have to be heard in order to be believed, weirdness all around, a display of primitive folk culture on its last legs just before it got squashed out of the technocratic 20^th century blitzkrieg. Again the set comes with a 50 + pages lavishly illustrated booklet that will provide visual assistance when listening to the entire marvel contained within this set. You will be hit with a piece of Japan you never even dreamt of existed. Next to that the heavy cloth covered box is massive to behold and a stunning piece of outsider art. Hideously rare and extremely adventurous as far as its contents are concerned. Should appeal to anthropologists, Japanophiles, lovers of the occult, esoteric Buddhism thrill seekers, lovers of field recordings and collectors of exquisite artifacts. Highest possible recommendation. This one comes with the always-missing outer carton box functioning as obi, so dead cheap again…. Price: 125 Euro

72. NI HON NO HOROGEI: “Fushidan Setsukyou” (Victor – SJX-2063~8) (5 LP set: Near Mint/ Cloth bound and covered box set: Near Mint/ 24 –paged Booklet: Near Mint/ Outer Carton Box Styled Obi: Near Mint). The “Ni Hon no Horogei” series that Victor put out in the mid-seventies is certainly my all time favorite collection of deranged filed recordings, weird cultural oddities all graced with insanely luxurious packaging. Such an elaborate project of in total 6 box sets could only be generated in a bubble infested economy, when record companies still had some time and money to waste on glorious projects that had absolutely no commercial potential whatsoever. These sets were mainly produced out of a documentary perspective and ended up mostly in the racks of libraries and research institutions. Very few copies hit the streets and the one that did were largely ignored by the public, following in most boxes being withdrawn and eventually melted down again. This set here focuses on a long lost tradition that rooted within some minor esoteric Buddhists sects, a tradition that is now totally extinct. The 5 LP’s focus on a string of Buddhist priests rendering recitations and giving comments on communal affairs before an assembled crowd. Although most of their drone-filled recitations are deprived of any musical accompaniment, the whole affair does not fail to resonate out an intoxicating musical vibe. One can certainly say that their vocalizations are trance inducing and filled with sudden tempo changes, alterations in style, sped up with circular breathing and tonal irregularities and oddities that make this set a challenging listening experience. The most renowned of these priests was definitely Sobue Shounen, who is depicted on the box’s cover. Sobue was born at the beginning of the 20^th century (around 1905) and passed away in the early eighties. His vocal recitations are just awe inspiring and have an almost tribal feel attached to them. Just brilliant and totally jaw-droppingly great. Apart from the aural splendor that is splattered over the 5 LP’s, the box comes with a detailed and picture filled booklet, forming a welcome accompanier to music. It gives a stunning photographic testimony to a Japan that no longer exists, rural town’s people and assorted anthropological marvels. Next to that the heavy cloth covered box is massive to behold and a stunning piece of outsider art. Hideously rare and extremely adventurous as far as its contents are concerned. Should appeal to anthropologists, Japanophiles, lovers of the occult, esoteric Buddhism thrill seekers, lovers of field recordings and collectors of exquisite artifacts. Highest possible recommendation. Price: 100 Euro

73. Ni Hon no Minzoku Ongaku Dai-10-kan: “Bugaku – Ennen” (Victor – SJL-2193~5-M) (3 LP Set: Near Mint/ Box: Near Mint/ 16 paged Booklet with cover imprinted gold ink on black heavy textured paper: Near mint/ Obi: Mint). Lavishly illustrated and high fidelity recording box set that focuses this time round on Japanese traditional, rural and imperial Court dance and Court music. Extremely beautifully packaged and illustrated box set that sheds some light upon rural folk music and dances of Japan, recorded all in remote villages, the music on display was and is on the brink of extinction due to the 20^th century making vast progress in order to bring modernity to the far outback and dragging along in its wake the demise of century old native expression forms. This set forms one in a series of 13 sets that Victor Records released in 1975. Each set came out in an edition of 1000 copies but I am afraid that about 50% was taken out of circulation and melted down due to depressive sales. The music it beholds is just breathtakingly great. All recorded in mono of course, the sound, rituals and dances give a glimpse upon rural traditions held in temples, courts and palaces scattered over the archipelago, this time all focused on ritualistic music in favor of the Emperor and his household. It contains snippets of Gagaku music, minimal percussive excursions, eerie vocal exclamations, loads of wind instruments, various field recording snippets, primitive taiko and percussive rattles, and so much more. An awesome set. The box is filled with rural oddities, shamanistic induced music recordings, spoken word intersections, filed recordings and so much more. This was the real underground Japan, a sonic slab of historical recordings that you didn't even knew existed in the first place. This box (one in a series of 13) was released in 1975. It hardly had any commercial potential whatsoever so it is not surprising that copies are scarce these days. Here you have an excellent copy of such a set, a 3 LP box filled with voices from a distant and long gone past. Hard to come by, especially in such pristine condition. Price: 75 Euro

77. OCORA – MUSIQUE CENTRAFICAINE: “Azande, Babinga, Bagandou, Bianda, Bofi, Broto, Dakpa, Isongo, Iinda, Ndokpa” (Ocora Records – OCR-43) (Record: Near Mint/ gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint/ Attached Booklet: Near Mint). Later day Ocora pressing of this early Ocora disc, this pressing is of 1980l. This record offers examples of various types of musical instruments which are in general use in the Central African republic, such as the sauza, the xylophone with calabash resonators, ankle rattles, but also represents instruments such as the the straight wooden horns, grouped to form an orchestra and the nose whistle, which are used exclusively by a few ethnic groups in relatively exceptional circumstances. Besides the musical styles in common usage such as the lullaby, lament, children's songs and work songs, this record also contains a surprising example of music intended to attract termites, two extracts from the music for an initiation ceremony, which are remarkable for their polyphonic construction and execution and two types of polyphony which is characteristic of Pygmy music. Again a classic Ocora title…collect em all. Price: 25 Euro

79. OCORA –Musique Malagache: (Ocora Records – OCR-24) (Record: Near Mint/ Gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint). The pictures and music on display on this vintage Ocora slide were the result from a musicological mission of 2 months in duration undertaken in Madagascar in 1963. Due to the country’s rich historical legacy, the 15 tracks on display here evoke – either by means of musical style itself or by the instrumentation – the Oceanic world, Africa, Europe, Islam and perhaps even India (see track 3 on side a) which makes this record such a striking artifact. It is nevertheless evident that these various influences have mingled to produce an original style particular to Madagascar. Awesome. Price: 50 Euro

80. OCORA – MUSIQUE RITUELLE TIBETAINE: “S/T” (Ocora Records – OCR-49) (Record: Near Mint/ gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint/ Attached Booklet: Near Mint). First original Ocora pressing out of 1969 on the dark blue label. The recordings on this album are representative of the music and rites of the various sects of the original current o Buddhism and were made in North-east Nepal. Tow of the most important monasteries in this frontier region are represented here, the monastery of Thami of the Gelugpa sect and the monastery of Tengboche of the of the Nyingmapa sect. The music is varied and consists out of big two-headed drums, providing the rhythm, 2 pairs of hollow cymbals, 2 oboes producing a nasal and tense linear sound, handbells, chanting and other esoteric rumblings. The album is filled with tantric drone-like escapades that seem to capture and magnify images of roaring of torrents, the noise of rocks splintering and sliding down the mountain, violent guts of wind, sudden storms, the tinkling of bells worn around the necks of animals and the ankles of children, etc. Again massive….original 1^st pressing. Price: 50 Euro

81. OCORA – MUSIQUES DU PAYS LOBI: “S/T” (Ocora Records – OCR-51) (Record: Near Mint/ gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint/ Attached Booklet: Near Mint). First original Ocora pressing out of 1970 on the dark blue label. The musical pieces on this record were recorded in March 1961 in the region of Gaoua in South-Wes Upper Volta. The 1^st side of the record is devoted to the music of the Lobi, whose xylophone elong, with 14 keys and calabash resonators, is the principal instrument, always used in the important ceremonies of initiation or at funerals. The 2^nd side of the disc presents the musics of the Gan, Dagari and Birifor peoples, who are neighbors. Again a stunning collection of bone-chilling African field recordings. Ocora rules! Price: 40 Euro

83. OCORA –IRAN/ VOL.2: “Anthologie de la Musique Traditionelle Santur par Majid Kiani” (Ocora Records – 558-550) (Record: Near Mint/ Gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint. First original Ocora pressing out of 1980. Great Santur disc as performed by Majid Kiani who revived a tradition that almost disappeared. He single-handily deciphered the virtually inaudible recordings in an attempt to extract from silence some of the prodigious, but infinitely discreet and subtle touches of the vanished masters. He submitted himself to the slow process of osmosis between an absent master and his pupil with everything this implies in effort, not only artistically but also morally. Out of this slow and discreet ascetism a new master of the santur was born, worthy of those of the past, a musician who is both authoritative and highly aware of the aesthetic and spiritual values he incarnates. Price: 20 Euro

84. OCORA – PECHEURS DE PERLES et MUSICIENS DU GOLFE PERSIQUE: “S/T” (Ocora Records – OCR-42) (Record: Near Mint/ gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint/ Attached Booklet: Near Mint). First original Ocora pressing out of 1968 on the dark blue label. One of the really great ethno-musicological recordings. The recorder sits at the aft of the boat clutching his Nagra tape deck as the crew groan, grind (really), moan and wail like a chain gang pulling the pearl fisher's boat further out to sea. Truly scary. Although released in 1968, the recordings date from the winter of 1962/63 and originated out of a musicological mission to Bahrain and Sharjah. This record is according to my humble opinion one – if not the ultimate – drone record ever conceived. And you thought La Monte Young was cool? Forget it, these fisherman have less of an ego problem and blow La Monte and cohorts straight out of the water. Why? Because these dudes are hardcore. The have the mustard that provides a good drone without boring listeners with egomaniacal concepts. This drone here is rather a surprising phenomenon. The fact that it is situated in such a low register would seem to be exceptional. The drone takes several forms, it is at times regular, being emitted continuously throughout the nahami; sometimes episodic, inserted between the phrases of the soloist, rather like a continuation of the vocal phrase. In some cases the choir sketches in a slow, indistinct movement, as it were a crude imitation of the melody line performed by the soloist. The choral accompaniment may also take the form of loud exclamations always uttered while the soloist is silent. In short, this stuff here shreds the sky to pieces, makes the heavens part, the earth will shakes and mountains will crumble and be reduced to mere rubble. Massive is the sole superlative that can be applied in this case here. Rare first original Ocora pressing, getting though to score these days in immaculate condition. Price: 30 Euro

87. OCORA – LES TRADITIONS RITUELLES DES BONPOS TIBETAINS: (Ocora Records – 558-622) (Record: Near Mint/ Gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint). First original Ocora pressing out of 1983. These recordings were made in the course of two missions to Tibet in March 1981 and April 1983 and offer a selection aiming to illustrate various facets of the religious activities of the Bonpos through their chant and their psalmodic recitation. They intend to make better known the musical aspects of the ritual tradition that has remained largely unknown to the western world and ignored by the Tibetans themselves. A tradition which nevertheless is representative o the native elements of Tibetan religion. Price: 20 Euro

89. QAWWALI – Sufi Music From Pakistan – The Sabri Brothers & Ensemble: “S/T” (Nonesuch – G-5114H) (Record: Mint/ Jacket: Mint/ Obi: Mint). Japanese issue out of late 1970s of this stunning trance inducing Qawali disc. I guess most of you will be familiar with it so you know the grandeur the music brings forth. Massive. Price: 30 Euro

90.SACRED FLUTE MUSIC FROM NEW GUINEA: “Madang” (!Quartz - !Quartz-001) (Record: Excellent ~ Mint/ Jacket: near Mint). Original pressing out 1979 as released by David Toop’s !Quartz label. Flute music from New Guinea is meant to evoke the cries of spirits, sacred flutes are played by adult men of the Madang region. Pairs of long bamboo male and female flutes accompany ceremonies in the coastal villages near the Ramu River. The ravoi flutes from Bak are supported by two garamut carved wooden slit gongs; the waudang flutes from Manam Island are backed up by a pair of large and small slit gongs, and six singers, and the jarvan flutes from Awar feature accompaniment by a shell rattle. The mo-mo resonating tubes were recorded in the Finisterre Range. These recordings were made in 1976 by Ragnar Johnson assisted by Jessica Mayer while conducting research in a remote village in the Eastern Highlands. Their intention was to preserve this traditional music as it is played in the villages of its origin. The music itself is clear and haunting and this collection offers a variety of flute types for occasions ranging from rites of passage to fertility rituals, births, and marriages. All of the tracks are interesting documents of New Guinean music. Trully fantastic and bewitching document. Seldomly surfaces. Killer all the way. Price: 70 Euro

94. SAVANE NO OTO NO SEKAI: “Univers Sonore de la Savane” (Toshiba – TWX-90173~74) (2 LP set: Mint/ 30 Paged Book: Mint/ Box Set: Mint/ Obi: Excellent). Amazing and awe-inspiring 2 LP set recorded and compiled by Kawada Junzo between 1974 and 1981 on the African Plains of the Haute Volta. He has assembled a wide variety of environmental sounds, field recordings of animals, people, dances, rites and rituals. The end result is an all encompassing aural journey unveiling the richness in sound and music that floats around those plains. Japan only edition, fully annotated booklet present. This set will keep you busy for weeks in a row and comes with the highest recommendation. Rarely if hardly ever surfaces, much cited but seldom seen, finally a copy to throw to the wolves. Don’t sleep on this one…..Price: 75 Euro

92. Roku Dan Kara Chidori Made – Koto Meikyoku No Subete: (CBS Sony – SOJH-2) (Record: near Mint/ jacket: Near Mint/ Horizontal Obi: near Mint). Stunning collection of classical Koto songs, housed in a “washi” textured sleeve with obi. Beautiful music housed in stunning washi textured paper, a monster in my book! The music is not of this planet and instead is beamed down from out of another solar system. These classic koto tunes have a totally disarming effect, they just soothe the listener into a meditative mindset. The classic tunes are executed by some of the finest old skool players and included performances by such virtuoso string caressers such as Yonekawa Fumiko, Kiku Hara, Tsune Hatsune, Ogiwara Masagin, Uehara Masaki and accompanied bloodcurdlingly beautiful singing by Yonekawa Fumiko and Takahashi Sadaharu. This one comes highly recommended and should appeal to field recording addicts, classical music buffs, adventurous music freaks and people whose musical tastes are not dictated by mundane music magazines. Rare edition housed in stunning jacket and 1^st time ever I could dig up a spare of this classic. Highest possible ever recommendation. Price: 40 Euro

93. THE TRAVELS FOR INFIAN MUSICS AND DANCES: “S/T” (Toshiba - ) Stunning 3 LP box set complete with detailed booklet documenting a wide variety of Indian music. The records are all mint, sadly enough the box set is VG++ due to some edge wear and the hinges coming loose. Still an amazing set. Bloody fucking bargain deal here for those who actually scroll down to the bottom of these pages....3 bloody LP Box Set with booklet, i must be loosing my mind to let it go this cheap....Price: 50 Euro

96. UNESCO COLLECTION ~ BARENREITER MUSICAPHON – AN ANTHOLOGY OF AFRICAN MUSIC: “Music From Rwanda” (Musicaphon – BM-30-L2302) (Record: Mint/ Gatefold Sleeve: Mint/ Attached Booklet: Mint). First original Barenreiter pressing. “In the heart of Africa, the hills of Rwanda spread out from the waters of the Nile and the Congo divide. When these recordings were made in the field between 1954 and 1955, Rwandan society was divided in to three groups or castes: the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. In Rwanda, vocal and instrumental music are distinct, as are the forms of musical expression found in the three social groups. Vocal music includes the pastoral, ritual, heroic, popular and hunting styles. Instrumental music uses the drums, tabla-zither, the vertical flute, the musical bow, trumpets, the 'sanza,' the horn and a kind of fiddle. All are represented in this fascinating collection.” (Denyse Hiernaux-L'hoëst). Just stunning and another example why Unesco/ Barenreiter/ Musicaphon was THE best ethnographic label ever to appear on the scene. The new ethnic smash’n’grab labels we get plagued with these days pale in comparison to these giants. Just amazing, this is the real stuff, original top condition copy!! Price: 40 Euro

97. UNESCO COLLECTION ~ BARENREITER MUSICAPHON – AN ANTHOLOGY OF AFRICAN MUSIC: “The Music of the Senufo” (Musicaphon – BM-30-L2308) (Record: Mint/ Gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint/ Attached Booklet: Mint). First original Barenreiter pressing. The Senufo are a group of people living in northern Cote d'Ivoire and Mali. They are known as excellent farmers and are made up of a number of different groups who moved south to Mali and Cote d'Ivoire in the 15 and 16th centuries. The Senufo follow a strict caste-like system, in which the farmer is at the top and the musicians are on the bottom rung of the society. Recorded in the field in 1965, shedding some light on initiation and funeral rites. In addition to these rites the music and dancing play an important role. During funeral rites, in addition to the orchestra of the poro, groups of secular musicians whose composition varies according to the social standing of the deceased also show up but stop playing when the poro come pouring in with their xylophone orchestras. Next to all that, vocal music of the Senufo also was recorded and is monodic and most frequently takes the form of responsorial singing. Two singers alternate with one another, or else a choir singing in unison answers the verses of the solo singer. However man and woman do not sing together, the men’s voices are high pitched and tense. In distinction to the singing, instrumental music is polyphonic. It only goes to show how rich and variable their musical expression forms are and they are bound to hit you with disbelief just by the sheer beauty of their sounds. So amazing!! Price: 40 Euro

98. UNESCO COLLECTION ~ BARENREITER MUSICAPHON – A MUSICAL ANTHOLOGY OF THE ORIENT: “ TibetI” (Musicaphon – BM-30-L2009) (Record: Near Mint/ gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint/ Attached Booklet: Near Mint). First original Barenreiter pressing. Released in August 1966, the discs focus on the Nyingmapa Sect, the Kagyupa Sect and the Gelugpa Sect. The bulk of the material present on this massive set was recorded during May and June of 1961 and represents sacred chant and instrumental music of the Buddhist liturgy and other rites, centering around the monasteries. The chants here on display, with lush abundant use of wind instruments, percussion instruments and assorted havoc creating devices, are sometimes free but more usually metrical in their build up, both symmetrical and asymmetrical measures. The voice-style, close-throated and very deep in pitch is, as the natural voices of the monks show , unnatural; it is a deliberately cultivated style. Tonally speaking, the chanting varies from an inflected monotone to a varicolored melodic pattern based on a definite mode. This is decorated in variety of ays and at time the chanting is accompanied by an ensemble which amounts to an orchestra. Just stellar music and this box ranks as one of the finest examples of Tibetan music ever recorded. Apart from that the packaging is so lavishly and carefully presented, it will hit you senseless. Just such a beautiful item.Price: 30 Euro

99. UNESCO COLLECTION ~ BARENREITER MUSICAPHON – A MUSICAL ANTHOLOGY OF THE ORIENT: “ Iran II” (Musicaphon – BM-30-L2005) (Record: Near Mint/ Gatefold Sleeve: Near Mint/ Attached Booklet: Near Mint). First original Barenreiter pressing. Fabulous selection shedding some light on Iranian high cultural musics with excursions on dombak (classic Iranian drum with one face), Santur, tar, mystic chants, straight flute endeavors and much more. Just spellbindingly great, it blew my mind and hopefully yours to before the Us decides to bomb the country back to the stone-age……the barbarians…..Iranian music is just beautiful. Price: 25 Euro

100. UNESCO COLLECTION ~ BARENREITER MUSICAPHON – A MUSICAL ANTHOLOGY OF THE ORIENT:: “Indonesia I” (Unesco Collection/ Barenreiter Musicaphon – BM-30SL2031) (Record: Near Mint/ gatefold Sleeve w/ attached Booklet: Near Mint). Original Barenreiter record which means and stands for total quality both recording and documentation wise. This set here brings forth some galvanizing tomes out of Indonesia, which will have you, spellbound for days in a row. Getting a bitch to dig up these past couple of years. Top copy. Price: 40 Euro

101. UNESCO COLLECTION ~ MUSICAL SOURCES – North India Instrumental Music: Sitar Flute Sarangi: “S/T” (Philips Japan – PC-1710) (Record: Near Mint/ Jacket: Near Mint). High quality vinyl Japanese pressing out of 1979. Stunning collection of Indian instrumental music. Great and quality Japanese original pressing of this classic Unesco title. Price: 20 Euro

102. V.A./ UNESCO COLLECTION ~ MUSICAL SOURCES – Balinese Theatre and Dance Music “S/T” (Philips Japan – PC-1703) (Record: Mint/ Jacket: Mint/Obi: Mint). High quality vinyl Japanese pressing out of 1978. Stunning collection of hypnotic swirling Balinese music, long head-spinning tracks filled with bells, gongs, luceferian gamelan action and flutes & pipes running amok. Great and quality Japanese original pressing of this classic Unesco title. Price: 25 Euro

103. V.A./ UNESCO COLLECTION ~ MUSICAL SOURCES – Taqasim and Layali – Cairo Tradition: “S/T” (Philips Japan – PC-1716) (Record: Mint/ Jacket: Mint/ Obi: Mint). High quality vinyl Japanese pressing out of 1979. “This entry in a UNESCO-sponsored survey of modal music and improvisation around the globe brews slowly, like a cup of Turkish coffee being brewed out in the sun. There is no doubt that the final number, "Darabukka Solo" by Muhammed El-Arabi, would bowl most listeners over, even ones who swear that sitting through a drum solo is a physical impossibility. Yet there is a possibility of nodding off before it comes around, not because the earlier pieces are boring, which they certainly never are, but because it all has such an intoxicating state of calm to it. This is despite the fact that the main job of the instrumentalists is to wind up all manner of impressive variations on the original scales. It is perfect background for relaxing with a novel by the great Egyptian author Naguib Mahfoux, especially the classy and attractive performance by the Takht Ensemble of Cairo. Stringed instrument lovers will particularly enjoy the astounding oud solo by Gomaa Muhammed Ali. The recording quality is fat, bringing out certain low tones in the oud and drum in a way that reaches right for the gut.” (Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide). Great and quality Japanese original pressing of this classic Unesco title. Price: 25 Euro

107. ZôDôShû GONGYO: “S/T” (Teichiku – NT-1420) (Record: Near Mint/ Jacket: Near Mint/ Insert: Near Mint). A disc that I can strongly recommend to any fan of minimal music, field recordings, drones and esoteric Buddhist chanting. First time I have a copy to spare of this really amazing LP. The sounds on display here are dense, resonating out astonishing and mesmerizing music. Mostly the focus lies on chanting deep droney nasal vocals that get flanked by the occasional beating of sticks, huge gong drones and atmospherical sounds that drift in and out of the temple complex. Some of the pieces are calm, unaccompanied chant to flurries of hypnotically discordant high-end drones that almost sound like some sort of feedback but the variety and depth here is amazing. A deep polyphonic trip for sure. The whole was all recorded on location in the Eiheiji Temple around 1970 and released shortly thereafter. Also known under the name "temple of eternal peace", Eiheiji is one of Soto Zen's two head temples. It is located deep in the mountains near the rugged west coast of Japan, not far from Fukui City. this is well-recorded, yet authentic and raw – the recording even captured the shuffling of the monks, their breathing and some background sounds in the quieter passages! It's these ritualistic stompings and hushed bits of chanting that stand amongst the highlights of this incredible field recording document. The trance inducing sounds generated by monks is just intense, almost hypnotic in nature. Featuring skillful and moving polyphonic passages as well as many stripped down instrument accompanied sections (but very stripped down, only some sticks, stones and gongs – it is Zen after all) with vocals that leave me time and time again in total awe of their haunting qualities and totally beautiful delivery. So in a way this music is sheer heaviness. Not heaviness like the amped tuned to 11 heaviness. A different sort of heaviness, a "heavy" that's timeless, spiritual, feeling, and isn't entirely reliant on volume and bass Fabulous……..my jaw hits the floor every time I immerse myself in the Buddhist music realms….totally a liberating listening experience. Price: 50 Euro