Agata Morio — Submarine

from Norimono Zukan (1980)

Heard this track on Liz Berg’s show this morning. It’s from Japanese folkie Agata Morio’s 1980 album Norimono Zukan, aka Transportation Encyclopedia. Don’t be fooled, though. This sounds nothing like folk—it’s one of the 11 LPs issed on the underground “techno-pop” label Vanity Records:

“Vanity Records in Osaka was one of the unforgettable hallmarks of the early Japanese underground music scene of the late-70′s. This label was founded by Yuzuru Agi, the music critic/editor of ROCK MAGAZINE. Agi was a sort of alternative visionary with a superb talent to assess new musical modes at a time when blues and West Coast-style rock still dominated the local music scene…Inspired by punk and the flood of indie labels that swept New York and London, Agi started Vanity Records in 1978, releasing 11 LPs, 3 singles, 12 flexis, and 6 cassettes between ’78 and ’82 (each release limited to 300-500 copies).”

- Satoru Higashiseto from Music No. 2, 1998, via Dave Knapik

Someone over at Direct Waves says the Morio track might actually be a cover (the music, at least) of the 1979 Joy Division track ‘She’s Lost Control‘… it’s a dead ringer.

big lion meets little lion — Chinatown NYC

Lindsey Buckingham at the Record Plant in Sausalito with producers Ken Caillat (left) and Richard Dashut, 1977

via Sound on Sound

Shankar Jaikishan & Rais Khan — Raga Kalavati

from Raga Jazz Style (1968)

Still combing through the Megaupload-related carnage among the blogs..and so, so bummed to see that the great (now mythical) Holy Warbles is among those fallen. Such a brimming archive of the world’s sounds… now silenced.

I grabbed this mind-blowing album some time ago from Holy Warbles… let this post serve as a sort of impromptu wake for one of the greatest music blogs on the internet. May it be reincarnated somewhere soon.

Doug at WFMU’s Give the Drummer Some played a full three-hour warbling tribute set this morning—check it out. (audio should be up later today)

Khalil Ahmed — Qayamat Vol. 1 with Nighat Akbar, Mehnaz, Mehdi Hassan

from the original soundtrack to Qayamat (197?)

More great music from the East—this track is from Lollywood composer and music director Khalil Ahmed, written for the film Qayamat: A Love Triangle in Afghanistan. What a beat. I can’t find much about the film except for this bizarrely-written wikipedia entry, so I’m not positive about the title or the date.

This track from the glorious Hindustani Vinyl. Worth spending a few hours combing the archives there…

Giti Pashaei — Gol-e Maryam (1971)

I just found a slew of amazing tracks over at the blog Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annex, including this 1971 single by Giti Pashaei, a big star in Iran before the Revolution. This track is about an agave relative known in Iran as the ‘Mary flower,’ from which a perfume is made. From wikipedia:

Giti was one of the most popular Iranian singers of the late 1960s and 1970s. She became famous with her song ‘Gol-e Maryam’ (The Maria Flower). The Iranian Revolution put an end to her singing career in 1979. Women were forbidden to sing in public. Later on she composed many sound tracks for Iranian movies after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

Is it just me or did Iran seem like a hell of a lot more fun in the Shah days?

photos via WhatsUpIran.com.

three conga drums on the M train

Achim Reichel — Warum Peter Nur Noch Ferien Macht

from AR 3 (1973)

Gorgeous, trippy krautrock guitar jams from a master of the genre, Achim Reichel. This gets real crazy a couple minutes from the end. Don’t miss it.

Mutant Sounds, that infinite vault of wonder, has this and a radio broadcast bootleg from 1973, which is also worth spacing out to…

The Techniques — Queen Majesty (1967)

Rock steady with sweet falsetto harmonies. Yes please. This classic rock steady/reggae tune is a reinterpretation of the 1962 Curtis Mayfield/The Impressions track ‘Minstrel & Queen.’

unouomedudee:

R.I.P. Winston Riley

I’m slowly starting to realize how much influence the music my mom has played around the house has influenced me. I was never even really into reggae, mainly because it was just something I constantly heard. A lot of my mom’s favourite songs, and the songs I heard growing up, were produced by Winston Riley. So it’s weird to think about how someone who I didn’t know of until his death, influenced the way I make songs.

Virginia Astley — A Summer Long Since Passed

from Hope in a Darkened Heart (1986)

Rainy day music… this whole album is a gem. Produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Dustin Wong @ 285 Kent, Brooklyn

The man is a magician with a guitar.

Gary Numan — Films

from The Pleasure Principle (1979)

This is what robots do for fun.

Robert Palmer — Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley (Allen Toussaint)

from Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley (1974)

This album cover is just outlandish, in the best possible way. And holy shit is the band on fire.

i12bent:

Lowell George, Allen Toussaint and The Meters can be heard on this funky classic…

(via artofthesong)

Bridget St. John — Moody

from Hello Again: A Collection of Rare Tracks

This is the stuff Laurel Canyon dreams are spun from. Let’s-go-shopping-for-wind-chimes music. Shall-we-drive-to-the-beach music. Who’s-packing-the-picnic-blanket music.

Came across this ray of 70s sunshine yesterday while perusing the Motherlode over at WFMU’s Beware of the Blog. I can’t find a date for this particular track but I believe it’s from ‘77-‘79, and it comes from a Japanese comp of rare recordings, many of which are retooled versions of earlier material. Hat tip to the blog Dirty Funky Situation for this gold.

Walsh — Welcome to 2k12

from Back 2 the High Life (2k12)

Been digging on the new Walsh release all week. Brandon Biondo strikes again! Get yer funk on at bandcamp or the sublime AMDISCS. And pop open a High Life while yer at it.