Record Store Day 2018: More Releases
In this next instalment of our Record Store Day 2018 select releases, we are thrilled to drop the needle on these exclusive titles this coming Saturday, 21 April 2018. From the much-anticipated Brian Eno with Kevin Shields 'The Weight of History + Only Once Away My Son' to Senegal's Cheikh Lo classic debut album 'Ne La Thiass' to Lil Uzi Vert's commercial debut mixtape 'Luv Is Rage', The Analog Vault is set to carry a diverse mix of Record Store Day titles this year.
LARAAJI
Sun Transformations
A much-anticipated record for us by Laraaji, ambient music pioneer and specialist in piano, zither and mbira. His name is synonymous with celestial music, cosmic energy and mystical music.
"An exclusive new RSD album comprising remixes and edits of material from Laraaji's recent 'Sun Gong' and 'Bring On The Sun' LPs. This album connects the new age ambience of Laraaji's music to the kaleidoscopic cut-ups of the LA beat scene with remixes, DJ Edits and re-interpretations by Ras G, Natureboy Flako, Dntel, Larry Mizell, Mia Doi Todd, Dexter Story, Carlos Niño, Diva, Benjamin Tierney and Daniel Givens. "Laraaji may be in his 70s, but he's no oldies act. In actuality, he's as timeless as any musician currently treading the boards. Be good to yourself for a change and bask in his magnanimous effusions." - The Stranger"
— Press release
BRIAN ENO WITH KEVIN SHIELDS
The Weight of History + Only Once Away My Son
"Eno’s most famous partnerships (David Bowie’s Low, U2’s Unforgettable Fire) filtered his collaborators’ songwriting visions through his erudite lens, but “Once Away My Son" is more a meeting of the minds, like his work with David Byrne or Robert Fripp. For nine-odd mind-bending minutes, what you’d guess are Shields’ sub-aquatic drones meld with what are presumably Eno’s gamelan-like chimes, contorting themselves into breathtaking shapes. With its decaying hums, low-end rumblings, and coruscating clatter, the instrumental track may not be groundbreaking for them, but it’s familiar in the best way. The biggest question: Is this good? Unequivocally, yes."
— Press release
CHEIKH LO
Ne La Thiass
"Cheikh Lo’s music is a unique blend of African styles (most notably Mande, Wolof and Congolese) infused with the Cuban music that was so popular in his youth. He began working on his extraordinary debut album in 1991 and he spent five years honing its unique style. He wanted to record live with real musicians who understood his music. On hearing a demo of Lô’s songs Youssou N’Dour immediately committed to producing. A cast of Senegal’s finest was assembled with musicians from N’Dour’s Super Etoile band, recording and mixing were completed in 9 days giving the album the freshness and immediacy of a live recording." — Cheikh Lo Music
"The effect on first hearing is positively spine-tingling – and it gets better with every play. Astonishingly assured for a debut. Warm and intimate with a spiritual quality." — The Times
SOFT CELL
Say Hello Wave Goodbye / Youth Reimagined
"Double-A-sided 12” of new extended versions of Soft Cell’s classic ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ and the fan favorite album track ‘Youth’. Soft Cell were legendary for their well-crafted extended 12” mixes and on these new versions original member Dave Ball uses the original studio parts to create what he and Marc would have wanted fans to hear in 1982. Not remixes but exquisite period reimaginings."
— Press release
CZARFACE
Man's Worst Enemy
"For Record Store Day Czarface will issue “Man’s Worst Enemy”, a multimedia set featuring an all new CZARFACE comic illustrated by Gift Revolver complete with its own 7"" vinyl companion. The 7” will feature a pulse-pounding soundtrack to accompany the comic, material not included on their full-length with MF DOOM and an exclusive remix to Czarface and MF DOOM's “Meddle With Metal!"
— Press release
LIL UZI VERT
Luv Is Rage
Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert's first commercial mixtape, 'Luv Is Rage' (2015), is a RSD 2018 exclusive release in yellow vinyl. Individually numbered and limited to 2500 copies worldwide, the album features guest appearances by Wiz Khalifa and Young Thug, it is a blend of slow tempo trap and heavy bangers.
NAS
Illmatic: Live From The Kennedy Center
"Two decades after the album’s critically-acclaimed release, hip-hop icon Nas teamed up with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., to stage a symphonic rendition of illmatic, one of the most revered albums in hip-hop history. This exclusive vinyl will be available for RSD 2018. Packaging includes gatefold 2XLP 180 gram (heavyweight) vinyl with gold foil embossing, 24x36” 2-sided poster with gold foil embossing, euro sleeve inserts with exclusive event photos with gold foil embossing, and download card of live album." — Press release
Rough Guide To Ethiopian Jazz
"Swinging Addis is thriving once again, with the distinctive ancient-sounding tones of Ethiopia blending with modern jazz interpretations to create a totally unmistakable fusion. From the legendary innovators Mulatu Astatke and Getatchew Mekuria to today’s new generation of artists, this Rough Guide celebrates this burgeoning and most captivating of musical scenes."
— Press release
DEMON FUZZ
I Put A Spell On You
"The seven-piece afro-rock band Demon Fuzz released their debut album Afreaka! In 1970. It became an instant hit and an popular source for sampling. One of the songs on the album is the cover of the Screamin' Jay Hawkins classic I Put a Spell on You. The 7” edition let us feel the raw power of the mash of Afro-Latin funk, psychedelica and breakbeats. Two other songs can be found on the vinyl, the deep and groovy “Message to Mankind” and the rhythmic shifts of the lengthy instrumental “Fuzz Oriental Blues”.
Demon fuzz formed in 1968 in England and developed from a band started in the soul to a supergroup which implemented funk, jazz, rock and African music in their songs. Highly sought-after 7inch of this cult band, high in demand."
— Press release
DAVID AXELROD
Song Of Innocence
"David Axelrod delivered one of the great psychedelic albums with 1968’s Song of Innocence, based around the poetry of William Blake. It is considered by many his masterpiece. Song of Innocence is this weird hybrid that no one, not even Axelrod himself, could ever really describe. The listener is pulled in by his melodies, simplistic at first blush, but colored by odd chord progressions and turn arounds, grounded by the drummer Earl Palmer and Carol Kaye’s funk, torn between the juxtaposition of musical elements – a jazz vibraphone solo here, a fuzz guitar tear here, a nod to the baroque in Don Randi’s clavichord comps – and put at ease, always, by Axe’s arrangements, which utilize brass and strings in a way that no 1960s arranger did. It’s worth noting that there are really count-on-your-hand examples of anything that might even be compared to Song of Innocence."
— Press release
MARVIN GAYE
Sexual Healing: The Remixes
"In 1983, after a six year absence from the upper reaches of the pop charts, Marvin Gaye re-established his soul supremacy with "Sexual Healing", an addictive romantic classic and the final pop hit of his lifetime. This maxi-single, pressed on red smoke vinyl, includes seven versions of this unforgettable song (several making their vinyl debuts), including the original 12" single version, a rare alternate vocal version and remixes by Ben Liebrand, Kygo, SNBRN and more."
— Press release
CAR SEAT HEADREST
Twin Fantasy
Downloaded over 33,000 times on Bandcamp, this modern indie classic is now available for the first time on vinyl.
Singapore A-Go-Go
A 'RSD First' release, Singapore A-Go-Go is a compilation of Singaporean 60's beat, pop, and “off-beat cha-cha” classics from original vinyl 45’s.
"These 22 supercharged beat-a-go-go tracks defy a common held belief that the Chinese couldn’t rock, groove, or swing back in the 1960’s. The vocals are sung in the dialects of Mandarin and Hokkien and they soar with catchy hooks atop groovy, clever beats. There’s plenty of electric guitar, organ, and crazy percussion rocking and twisting behind it all, at times reaching quite a mad and freaky state of affairs.
Seminal bands of the period like The Stylers and The Silvertones are well represented here backing up a wide array of popular vocalists with Charlie Electric Guitar Band’s Sound of Japan ripping it up on four brilliant instrumental tracks."
— Press release
JEFF BUCKLEY
Live at Sin-é
A live EP by Jeff Buckley, the four-song EP captures Buckley's 1993 set in the Sin-é coffeehouse in New York City's East Village, the neighborhood he had made his home. The EP includes a live version of two of Buckley's best-known songs 'Mojo Pin' and 'Grace', as well as a cover of Van Morrison's The Way Young Lovers Do'.
