Sam Shepherd (Floating Points): Pharoah...

Pharoah Sanders: Huh...?

Sam: Were you asleep? I'm sorry...

Pharoah: No no... I was listening... and dreaming... and listening to music in my head...

Sam: Oh wow... sorry.

Pharoah: Many times, people think I might be asleep... but in fact, I am just listening to music in my head. I'm always listening... to the sounds around me... and playing, in my mind... and sometimes I dream.

Sam: What were you dreaming about?

Pharoah: I'm on a ship. In the ocean. Bears coming around smoking cigars. The bears are singing, ‘We have the music. We have what you're looking for.’ I say, ‘Really?’ And I was making fish dinners. Shark..Lobster. Got all kinds of fish. And you know, a good pie. Pumpkin pie. You like pumpkin pie?

Pharoah: How you like that take, Sam?

Sam: It's cool. I think the bit in the middle, where it stops again...I think you can hear...We were both kind of confused. I like it as well because it sounds like two musicians that are trying to guide each other.

Pharoah: I think that's it right there. It came out different. It came out good though.

Sam: You happy?

Pharoah: Yeah, I'm cool with it.

Sam: Okay. Yeah, I think you're playing is beautiful.

FORMAT INFORMATION

Indies Exclusive LP Info: Limited edition pressed on 180g black vinyl, an indies only format in a gatefold die-cut sleeve.

LP Info: Standard 140g black vinyl in a gatefold die-cut sleeve.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2019 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

30 year anniversary box seT of David byrne’s legendary brazil Classics series. This is one of the first compilations of pop music from Brazil, and one of the most important compilations of music from anywhere. It became the beginning of a shift to music in other languages and from places other than where you are now. And, it was the beginning of Luaka Bop, which we are pretty happy about. New sleeve notes from David Byrne!

As some of you may know, Alice Coltrane was a legendary pianist, composer, spiritual leader, and the wife of John Coltrane, the most venerated and influential saxophonist in the history of jazz. In 1967, four years after meeting John, he died of liver cancer, leaving Alice a widow with four small children. Bereft of her soul mate, Alice suffered sleepless nights and severe weight loss. At her worst, she weighed only 95 pounds. She had hallucinations in which trees spoke, various beings existed on astral planes, and the sounds of “a planetary ether” spun through her brain, knocking her into a frightening unconsciousness. The critical event of this period was not that Alice fell into the nadir of her existence, but rather that she experienced tapas, a vital period of trial. These tapas (a Sanskrit term she used to describe her suffering) helped prepare Alice for the spiritual ally she found in Swami Satchidananda, an Indian guru, with whom Alice made her first trip to India. On her second trip there, Alice had a revelation instructing her to abandon the secular life and become a spiritual teacher in the Hindu tradition – so she moved out West – eventually opening the Shanti Anantam Ashram on 47 acres she’d bought in Agoura Hills, California. Music was the foundation of Alice’s spiritual practice. From the mid 1980’s to mid 1990’s, Alice Coltrane self-released four brilliant cassette albums. These cassettes contained a music she invented, inspired by the gospel music of the Detroit churches she grew up in, mixed together with the Indian devotional music of her religious practice, and even finds Alice singing for the first time in her recorded catalog. Originally only made available through her ashram, they are her most obscure body of work and possibly the greatest reflection of her soul.

STAFF COMMENTS

says: You know you're onto a good thing with a Luaka Bop reissue (check William Onyeabor for further proof…), and this Technicolor retrospective of the sublime Alice Coltrane shows the multi-instrumentalist at her most spiritual. Originally availably (barely) on self released cassettes dating from the mid 80s to mid 90s, the tracks on this double LP find Alice fusing gospel harmonies, Hindu mantras, hypnotic percussion and soaring, searing Carl Craig style keyboards. Perfect as an introduction or celebration of Alice's inspirational energy, this mind-blowing, life affirming set should have us all vibrating as one.

William Onyeabor was born outside Enugu, a small, rural town in Eastern Nigeria, he created his own genre of African electronic funk in the late 70s and early 80s, making music completely unique for his time. Today, he is reaching cult status among a growing list of admirers, including everyone from Damon Albarn and Hot Chip to Carl Craig and Madlib, with some likening him to the Kraftwerk of West Africa, or a precursor to LCD Soundsystem.

Among the crate-digging few that knew of him, he is considered a complete myth. While he has never performed live and almost never given interviews, his fantastical biography is scattered and has to this day not been verified. And, though he is still alive, he refuses to speak about anything regarding the past.

According to various rumors, he left home following the Biafran War and went to study cinematography in the Soviet Union, returning in the mid-70s to start his own film company and record label, Wilfilms. He then self-released eight remarkable records from 1978-1985. He wrote and produced everything on his own, and possibly played every instrument himself. Then, at some point of his life, he became born again and denounced his earlier music, deciding it is something he would never speak about.

In terms of their status and influence Os Mutantes are often referred to as the Brazilian Beatles. How did 60s Brazil produce the wildest, most psychedelic rock'n'roll group of them all? And why, three decades on, has the rest of the world gone crazy over them? Kurt Cobain, Beck, Super Furry Animals, The Bees and David Byrne are just a few of the musicians that have flown the flag for Os Mutantes. Against all odds, in May 2006 the band reunited for the first time in over 30 years for a euphoric show at the Barbican's Tropicalia Festival. The recording of this historic concert, with special guests Devendra Banhart and Noah Georgeson, is now released on CD and DVD. The live album features the best-loved tracks of this legendary group and the full-length DVD includes the entire Barbican concert plus documentary, backstage footage, video clips and photos.