A couple of days late.
December Acquisitions
Secret Santa gifts
Deep Earth -
Nachtmusik
Kimiko Kasai (笠井紀美子) w/Herbie Hancock -
Butterfly
Little Simz -
NO THANK YOU
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Thank you again for the package,
@AndySlash! These are all great.
PIF claims / City Pop
Casiopea -
SUPER FLIGHT
Satoshi Suzuki (鈴木慧) -
Distant Travel Companion (
遠い旅の同行者)
Masayoshi Takanaka (高中正義) -
Alone
Yellow Magic Orchestra -
Naughty Boys
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Thank you to
@debar22 for both the Casiopea PIF and the complementary Takanaka record! I haven't played either of them yet, and will get to them this month.
Got the Satoshi Suzuki record from a tone poem pop-up show; it is a private press from a botique label. The OBI strip states that the components are distributed as 40% jazz, 30% soul, 20% Brazil, and 10% popular song influence. To me, this archival release is more of a minimal synthpop/city pop hybrid with a lo-fi aesthetic. I love it either way. Seems to be out of stock in most places. $24!
Found the last YMO record I've been in search of!
2023 releases
Anagrams -
Blue Voices
Armand Hammer -
We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
Lemon Quartet -
ArtsFest
Roy Werner -
Imagine My Surprise
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Balmat has become a top10 favorite label for me. I gave
Blue Voices initially a "
" impression, but changed to "
" a month after. I'm loving the hybrid of ambient and jazz here. Got this at DeepDiscount at 15% off for just under $24 total, which would be impossible to find for such a price in the open with the label having limited distribution to the US.
Obviously pricey (everything from Backwoodz Studios is this way) for a 2xLP but a worthwhile hip-hop i n v e s t m e n t. One of the best hip-hop records from 2023.
More ambient jazz/experimental music from Last Resort with Lemon Quartet's follow-up
ArtsFest. Among my favorite jazz releases in what I thought was a shallow year for the genre.
Another enjoyable one from Moon Glyph, another top10 favorite label.
I'm planning on performing an ambient jazz DJ set sometime this year;
Blue Voices,
ArtsFest, and
Imagine My Surprise will be useful assets when the day comes.
Ambient adjacent
Attilio -
Art Takes a Holiday
Lucinda Chua -
Antidotes
Mort Garson -
Mother Earth's Plantasia
Grouper -
Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
Motohiko Hamase -
Notes of Forestry
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Found the Attilio reissue at Mississippi, even though it is a release on the MP label. Must've been a lot of deadstock; only $12 sealed when it is usually $20 from MP's in-store or online stock.
This double EP of Lucinda Chua's was only $5 from Oldies. I don't even know if I'll keep it long term.
Had the VMP of
Mother Earth's Plantasia a few years ago (sold on Discogs), but eventually found myself wanting this again, especially since the master tapes have been found and used for another reissue run. $19 from Mississippi.
Repress of Grouper's cherished ambient folk tapestry.
Taking a chance on this Japanese ambient/minimalist record. Cover art looked convincing.
Miscellaneous
Actress -
Karma & Desire
Eomac -
Cracks
Imarhan -
Aboogi
Loraine James -
Reflection
Viktor Vaughn -
Vaudeville Villain
Snowpoet -
Wait For Me
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Actress, Eomac, and Imarhan were all $5 or so from Oldies. Snowpoet about $12.
Found the Loraine James used for $15 at Little Axe. I find it far better than her effort from last year. Will be useful for DJ purposes either way.
The
Vaudville Villain reissue should cap off the MF DOOM related projects that I want on wax.
No new purchases for at least three months. I have one PIF, one prize, and four preorders (three of which will likely be cancelled) pending otherwise.