Back in stock: Leftfield

Review: ***B-STOCK: Product has light surface marks/scratches, but otherwise in perfect working condition***


The 1990s was arguably the first 'golden age' of ambient - a time when the inherently atmospheric and laidback style not only exploded in popularity, but also became the post-club soundtrack of choice for a whole generation. This personal survey of the 90s ambient scene from journalist and author Jon Savage does a good job in gathering together a representative selection of genuine gems and overlooked classics, drifting between the bubbly, deep space brilliance of Richard H Kirk's Sandoz project ('Limbo'), bleeping ambient house ('Calm' by 2 Cabbages on a Drip), early progressive house (React 2 Rhythm), electronic psychedelia (the tabla rhythms and swirly noises of Rapoon), ambient blues (Underworld), IDM (U-ziq), and glacial, slow-motion bliss (Biosphere).

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight split on top of outer sleeve, slight creasing to outer sleeve, record unopened and in perfect working order***


Hype and awe abound over this Orb side project, with Oss having been resurrected last year several decades on from its initial stint as a hybrid live / DJ project from Alex Paterson and his longtime collaborator Fil Le Gonidec. This new album is a mere 8 track weirdo's favourite, straight from the brains of this techno-toned, post-dub power duo, from the psytech clicks and claps of 'Wow Picasso' to the worse-for-wear machinations of 'No Speed Limit'. Grab this special coloured vinyl edition while you can.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


In anticipation of Nouvelle Phenomene's forthcoming album, Bordello A Parigi concomitantly announce the reissue of their acclaimed debut LP Glory Of Romance, almost ten years after its initial release. An emotively depth-scouring work of contemporary synthwave-via-darkwave, the musical quadrangle of Angela Santa, Fanni Santa, Peter B. and Zsolt Dziba first produced this impressive studio project under the ambit of Russian indie label Other Voices, giving rise to the likes of 'Glory Of Romance' and 'Caresse', both excellent singles venturing into a well-established sound, yet colliding it with a fabulously fresh thematic locus, such as modern-day fatigue and artifice. Truly an ever-new phenomenon, Nouvelle Phenomene's style - that of gothic-sonic art nouveau - is a newness that nevertheless does not forfeit timelessness.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Over the course of his long and successful career, Ennio Morricone composed many dance songs in step with the fashions of the late 60s and early 70s. These were themes not necessarily directly connected with his films' synopses, but which were nonetheless played in disco clubs, on jukeboxes, turntables and on the radio. This collection contains a selection of pieces such as the brilliant main theme from Grand Slam (1967); the shake rock (opening credits) from Dario Argento's classic Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971) the danceable from the noir film Violent City (1970); the beat version of the opening credits of 'Pioggia Sul Tuo Viso' by the Sorrows, from How I Learned to Love Women (1966); 'Per Vittorio (Bossa)', an elegant bossa nova with flute and percussions from The Success (1963); the tribal shake from I Cantori Moderni, which winks at the dies irae from Garden of Delights (1967); 'Scuola di Ballo al sole', a wild surf piece from the Hawks and the Sparrows (1966); the supreme bossa nova from One Night at Dinner (1969) with the super iconic voice of Edda Dell'orso; the shake music of "'Ostinazione al Limone from What Have you Done to Solange? (1972); and 'Donnabossa' from Full Hearts and Empty Pockets (1964), a delicate bossa nova piece with a prominent harpsichord.

Review: The limited 7" edition of Marine Eyes' latest full-length ambient record 'To Belong' hears a distilling of the original fourteen-track record down to just four selections. Though every track on the digital version of the album works in its own right, the choice on offer here - 'Hushed', 'Of The West', 'Bluest' and 'Call & Answer' - are particularly deserving of the study on wax. Something static, nigh time-crystalline is achieved on the B2, with its held root note evincing something of the quality of an infinite dream; the A1 recalls some mix of DJ Healer, Malibu or David Motion with its three note tenor-pad lilt; the A2 gets at the best of both worlds, sounding like a paradisiacal bathhouse vision set in slow motion; the B1 is the tensest, opting for a moodier key, but its reversed guitar taps and sustained choir-synth working in a no less lachrymose aesthetic.

Review: What does it mean To Belong? Cynthia Bernard aka. Marine Eyes only begins to scratch the surface of this question on her latest ambient record (yet leaps a great deal forward in wrestling with it nonetheless), following up her prior effort 'Chamomile' with a distinctly beauteous fortnight of forenoon drones, all of which spur the realization that "belonging is everywhere and nowhere". Belonging is indeed a kind of ephemeral longing of being than can only ever be partly grasped, attained. Through its looping washes of warmed, brackish, padded backwash - not to mention its many bass-undergirded angel choirs - the likes of 'Timeshifting', 'Bridges' and 'Mended Own' stand out as such revelatory highlights, all contributing to an incredible album of sonic diaristic reflection, in which every sound sticks out clearly yet plays its proper part in a humble, rose-smelling gestalt.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Summer 2023 will always be remembered for the cinematic battle that was Barbie vs Oppenheimer, two polar opposite Hollywood smashes that spawned a wave of memes. Both managed to break records but one stands out when it comes to the soundtrack - and that is Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, the three-hour epic about the genesis of the atomic bomb. Written by Ludwig Goransson it now arrives in full, on nice opaque orange vinyl, via Mondo. The music matches the deep trip into the psyche of a singular American mind J. Robert Oppenheimer with plenty of drama and immersive, emotional moments.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Impex Records is shares a new, audiophile-quality LP release of Bud Shank's pivotal 1961 classic, Barefoot Adventure. With original compositions arranged by Shank for Bruce Brown's surf film of the same name, this is a swinging, hard-driving jazz session by six top-flight musicians at the height of their careers: Bud Shank (alto and baritone), Bob Cooper (tenor), Carmell Jones (trumpet), Dennis Budimir (guitar), Gary Peacock (bass), Shelly Manne (drums). The original Pacific Jazz recording features excellent sonics and showcases Shank at his most adventurous, toying with an advanced confidence and sophistication. Remastered and cut to lacquer by Kevin Gray from the original 1961 analogue master tape, this ultimate vinyl edition of Barefoot Adventure will satiate the most demanding audiophile and jazz enthusiast alike!