ANDRZEJ KORZYNSKI
POSSESSION
(FINDERS KEEPERS LP)
Killer (no pun intended) soundtrack for Andrzek Korzynski’s surrealist horror romp Possession (1981), all sweeping orchestral themes, spiky jazz interludes and pulsating electronic rhythm. Remastered from the original tapes, this is the first of several Korzynski reissues that Finder Keepers have planned for 2012.
THE DURUTTI COLUMN
SHORT STORIES FOR PAULINE
(FACTORY BENELUX LP)
Canned after Tony Wilson insisted he explore a more instrumental, expressionistic direction, Short Stories For Pauline – finally available in official, unabridged form after 32 years of gathering dust – is an atypical Durutti Column album, but a hugely satisfying one, recommended to casual fans and obsessives alike.
FABIO FRIZZI
THE BEYOND
(MONDO LP)
All but the nimblest missed out on this limited edition vinyl release of one of Fabio Frizzi’s most celebrated scores, for Lucio Fulci’s 1981 cult horror flick E tu vivrai nel terrore! L’aldilà (aka The Beyond). It’s a haunting, at times hysterical aggregation of ominous choral lines, hysterical psych-rock wig-outs and brooding electronics; but to be honest, even if the music was crap, I’d still want to own this record – the cover art, an unadorned colour portrait of the movie’s star, English actress Katherine MacColl, posing with an Alsatian, is surely among this year’s most exquisite inviting.
GARETH WILLIAMS & MARY CURRIE
FLAMING TUNES
(BLACKEST EVER BLACK LP)
An informal mid-80s studio experiment centered around Williams and his close friend Mary Currie, Flaming Tunes released but one album: a short-run cassette that was bootlegged in the 90s and had already achieved bona fide cult status before the release of an official CD edition in 2009. Blackest Ever Black [full disclosure: a label independently operated by FACT staff member Kiran Sande] has now given Flaming Tunes what is, remarkably, its first ever vinyl pressing, and so will hopefully introduce the late Williams’ very English, very eccentric brand of DIY pop music – with its shades of early Eno, Arthur Russell, Gong and Robert Wyatt – to a new generation.
JEFF MILLS
WAVEFORM TRANMISSION VOL.1
(AXIS 2×12″)
Remastered vinyl edition of Mills’ brutalist techno classic, all pounding 808s and blaring, in-the-red synth zaps. Its overloaded, EBM-rooted intensity was hugely influential upon its original release through Tresor in ’92 – not least on Birmingham boys Regis and Surgeon.
MONOTON
MONOTONPRODUKT 07
(DESIRE)
30th anniversary vinyl edition of Konrad Becker’s album, a dark-hearted exploration of the possibilities of loop-based synthesiser music. Caliginous to the core, the record’s sixteen tracks range from instrumental sketches through to Suicide-esque synth-pop. Unmissable.
R. STEVIE MOORE
LO FI HIGH FIVES: A KIND OF BEST OF
(O GENESIS LP/DIGITAL)
The sprawling back catalogue of Nashville’s premier outsider popstar can be bewildering and treacherous to the innocent newcomer – if you’re one of ’em, save yourself time, money, sweat and tears with this compilation, assembled by Tim Burgess and released on his own O Genesis label. The tracklist plays it pretty safe, but it’s a great introduction to RSM’s talent, no doubt.
STEREOLAB
TRANSIENT RANDOM-NOISE BURSTS WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS
(1972 2xLP)
Stereolab’s second album, originally released in 1993, captures Tim Gane’s troupe just before they threw themselves wholesale into the pursuit of a Space Age Bachelor Pad Music. Compared to the following year’s Mars Audiac Quintet (also recently reissued by 1972) it sounds positively old-fashioned; but also more classic, more durable.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
THIS AIN’T CHICAGO: THE UNDERGROUND SOUND OF UK HOUSE & ACID 1987-1991
(STRUT CD/LP/DIGITAL)
A source of great listening pleasure, but more importantly a historical corrective – reminding both younger folks and those OG ravers too off their heads to remember that the UK house explosion was as much about gloriously amateurish, stiffly jacking homegrown productions as it was about classy US imports.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
TV SOUND AND IMAGE
SOUL JAZZ
The DNA of hauntology, basically: a comp of curious cues and themes from British film and TV programmes of the 50s, 60s and 70s. Pentangle, Roy Budd and John Barry feature alongside obscure library cuts from De Wolfe, KPM and Chappell. Packaged with extensive notes from Stuart Baker and Jonny Trunk.
