YOU’LL PROBABLY WANT TO BUY A NEW TURNTABLE
WHEN YOU FIND OUT WHAT WE'LL BE RELEASING!
Juana Molina "Un Día"
First vinyl issue
Out now
Buy/stream
Released in 2008, this outstanding album was never pressed on vinyl. It contains some of Juana Molina's most rhythmic pieces (including the epic title track), and saw her dig deeper into electronic textures. Un Día was Juana's final album for the Domino label.
This very awaited vinyl reissue comes in the wake of Juana's seventh album Halo, which just came out (May 2017), and is unanimously acclaimed by audince & media alike. The Halo Tour is under way: after performing in Europe, South America and Japan, Juana Molina is about to embark on a North American leg on Sept 12, which will see her perform in Boston, Montreal, New York, Mexico, San Francisco, Long Beach and Los Angeles.
As warm and welcoming as it is weird
(Pitchfork)
Yasuaki Shimizu “Music For Commercials”
Vinyl reissue (re-mastered)
Out Sept. 15
Pre-order
Originally issued by Crammed in 1987, this is one of the most sought-after releases in our legendary Made To Measure series. Known for his numerous albums, soundtracks, and collaborations with an impossibly broad array of artists (from Ryuichi Sakamoto and DJ Towa Tei to Van Dyke Parks, Björk, Manu Dibango and Elvin Jones), composer, saxophonist and producer Yasuaki Shimizu also released several electronic music productions during the '80s, which are currently generating a lot of interest (a.o. his recently reissued Mariah project).
"Music For Commercials" is a brilliant and inventive collection of short pieces, initially conceived as soundtracks for Japanese TV commercials (and bearing sweet titles such as “Seiko”, “Sharp”, “Honda” etc). These twenty-three tracks (each clocking in at two minutes or less, except one longer piece composed for a computer-animation short) abound with hit-and-run sound collages, twittering computers, and energetic ricocheting between myriad styles of music. This album has achieved near-mythical status in the last few years, which have seen artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never sing its praise.
Zazou/Bikaye/CY1 "Noir et Blanc"
Vinyl reissue (re-mastered)
Out Oct. 27
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At last, the vinyl reissue of one of the biggest cult albums in the history of Crammed Discs. This record is constantly being (re)discovered by generations of fans, musicians and DJs, who hail it as an unsurpassed Afro/electronic milestone.
The album was recorded in 1983 and results from a studio encounter between experimental electronic music composers CY1, Congolese musician/vocalist Bony Bikaye, and French composer Hector Zazou, with involvement by sound engineer Gilles Martin, Marc Hollander (Aksak Maboul) and Vincent Kenis (the future creator/producer of the Congotronics series).
This reissue was remastered from original analogue tapes. It includes a booklet with new notes by the participants, as well as 5 of the recently-unearthed original demos, which have never been released previously, and 3 original remixes from 1984 which will all be available via a digital download code.
One of the most innovative LPs of the year... resembles the startling outcome of an imaginary collaboration between DAF and Fela Kuti (Melody Maker, UK, ‘83)
Fela Kuti-meets-Kraftwerk-on-the-dancefloor
(International Musician, USA, ‘86)
Aksak Maboul "Un peu de l'âme des bandits"
Vinyl reissue (re-mastered)
Out Nov. 10
Pre-order
Originally released in January 1980, the second album from (Crammed founder) Marc Hollander's band was the first record bearing the Crammed logo (although the label only really started to exist at the end of that year). More intense and experimental than the first Aksak Maboul album (yet often as playful), containing complex written section, free improv, and a wild variety of elements, "Un peu…" was recorded with a band comprising revered UK musicians Fred Frith & Chris Cutler, and is described by All Music Guide as a pinnacle of the RIO movement (RIO being Rock In Opposition, the late-'70s radical, pan-European coalition of bands, of which Aksak Maboul was part). "Un peu de l'âme des bandits" reached #3 in the NME's top ten European albums of 1980 (after Yello and The Nits, before Steve Reich and Faust!). This is the album's first reissue on vinyl, it will include a booklet with various documents, as well as previously-unreleased recordings (available on an exclusive CD inserted into the LP, plus via a digital download code).