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Piero Umiliani was capable of traveling not only in a physical sense but also with a long series of geographical-themed albums that have always been among his best productions, and his interests weren’t just limited to distant Africa, to its percussive sounds and unexplored territories – especially with the Africa and Continente Nero releases.

In his vast and complex discography – including works recorded in his own name, in solo with groups and orchestras, but also under aliases such as Rovi, M. Zalla, The Soundwork Shoppers, Moggi, Catamo – there are excellent space-time excursions such as Genti e Paesi del Mondo, Paesi Balcanici, Il Mondo dei Romani, Storia e Preistoria, Medioevo & Rinascimento, Panorami Italiani and Paesaggi, where the musician could free an unstoppable creative vein that combined an artistic path intimately bound to Italy and to its traditions with the world’s sounds (and even more, given the cosmic ventures of Tra Scienza e Fantascienza and L’Uomo nello Spazio).

Among his most adventurous efforts, Polinesia deserves a special mention, since it was fully recorded with glowing percussion and exotic suggestions that remind of Martin Denny, bringing to mind sunny white beaches, Oceania and the famous Bora Bora, defined by the well-known Italian writer and documentary maker Folco Quilici as the most beautiful island in the world. Prepare a colorful cocktail and enjoy the full moon, you already have the perfect soundtrack for that… - Stefano Gilardino

Désaccord Majeur is the alter ego of French journeyman Jérôme Mauduit, a curious seeker and sustaining presence in Europe's post-industrial underground. Beginning his musical activities in the mid-1980s, Mauduit committed his first recordings to tape in 1989, self-releasing La Théorie Du Chaos on his eponymous label home to fellow travellers Internal Fusion, Largo and Moments Présents. It continued to act as a base for his own endeavours and before discontinuation in 1994, culminated in the release of Ophir, an important document propagating the earthy, ritualistic spores of Ah Cama Sotz, Hybryds, Nightmare Lodge and Muslimgauze - the alias of Bryn Jones who would later become his label mate at Staalplaat.

Treading sensitively through a humid urban decay left by Jorge Reyes and Luis Delgado, Manduit inhabits a strange, sticky world shared by O Yuki Conjugate, Z'EV and Nocturnal Emissions: woodlike percussion, melancholic drift and unclean ambience his markers of identification. Alluding to the atmospheric qualities of mid-90s world-weary electronica and the digitised undulations generated by Paul Schütze, Aubrite-era Thomas Köner and early Microstoria, it's perhaps no surprise that the tactility of Manduit's work has gained pertinence and resonated with a new generation of listeners - in fact, it was Vladimir Ivkovic who first introduced it to us in 2019.

Sourced from a productive period which climaxed in an appearance on Rotorelief's Coilectif - In Memory Ov John Balance and Homage to Coil compilation (2006), the tracks on Sunquake reveal the workings of an idiosyncratic, otherworldly artist drifting through dreams.

"This is a tiny yet remarkable entrance into Désaccord Majeur’s world of beautiful introvert electronics. Delicate yet powerful music that sounds like it was never made to please anyone beyond the place it was made. Never overstated but always inviting for anyone who wants to go for a hike through inner spaces."
—Vladimir Ivkovic, June 2020 (via A Colourful Storm)

 The trumpeter and composer’s 1977 solo debut, reissued on remastered vinyl, retains its uncanny narcotic power and elemental beauty decades on. 

Hassell’s trumpet is at the center of everything, as bent out of recognition as everything else. His elaborate effects chains create speech-like sounds, and his tone often becomes overwhelmed by the sound of his breath. On heavily processed tracks like “Hex” and “Viva Shona,” ping-ponging electronic dots and dashes nearly crowd him out of the mix. However, both “Blues Nile” and the album’s main event—the 21-minute long title track—distill Hassell’s artistry to its most fundamental elements: percussion, drone, and trumpet. He embellishes one or two notes insistently, creating tiny, detuned flutters that evoke a call to prayer for a non-existent religion. The simplicity and intimacy of these compositions is unusual in Hassell’s catalog. - Pitchfork