WRWTFWW Records is continuing its fruitful and blissful collaboration with New York ambient / jazz / downtempo musician Danny Scott Lane with the first ever vinyl release for his 2021 cassette album Caput. The 12-track beauty is available as a limited edition LP (500 copies worldwide) housed in a marvelously designed heavy 350gsm sleeve. The album is also available digitally.

Originally released on cassette only, Caput is desert music inspired by the city, a serene and cozy soundtrack of contemplative synth, mini pleasure-grooves, and botanical ambient jazz, sure to gently pacify the emotionally conflicted and make small moments the best moments. Scott Lane’s smooth downtempo is like a cushiony bubble of simple life, protecting the mind from noise and stress. It’s the comforting hand on the shoulder, the blanket that keeps warm, the easy Sunday morning breakfast - caring chillout music to escape from the brouhaha.

Caput follows the adorable, so comfy, and beloved soundscapes Home Decor and Shower, both available on WRWTFWW Records, and thus marks the third Danny Scott Lane release on the label…and surely not the last! Complete the collection now and feel the joy of being alive.

TRACK LISTING

A1. 21st Street
A2. Mike’s Kitchen
A3. Too Much Time
A4. Each Day Is Every Day
A5. Be Outside Talking
A6. Closing In 5 Minutes, Customers
B1. 10’Clock Ride
B2. Not Home
B3. Spring Street
B4. Late Love Walk
B5. Metal From Out A Window
B6. Her Coming In

WRWTFWW Records is proud to announce the worldwide reissue of Midori Takada’s solo album from 1999, Tree of Life, available on vinyl for the first time ever in a new audiophile mix by the Japanese percussionist herself, and in full half-speed-mastered glory.

The 180g LP comes in a heavy sleeve with a beautiful design by Kohei Sugiura. Tree of Life is also available in CD (digipack) and digital formats.

Originally recorded in September 1998 at legendary Ginza (Tokyo) studio Onkio Haus (founded in 1974 and where Ryuichi Sakamoto’s "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" and many more were recorded) and released on CD only for the Japan market in 1999, Tree of Life is Midori Takada’s best kept secret, a lost gem of minimalism and percussive ambient. The album is separated in two parts, the first one finds Takada exploring her trademark environmental soundscapes with precise mastery of marimba, drums, and bells, notably on the magnificent fan-favorite "Love Song Of Urfa". The second half is a collaboration with Chinese virtuoso Erhu player Jiang Jian Hua, allowing Midori Takada to unveil new layers of her artistic mind with a slightly more theatrical approach and a beautiful crystallization of complex simplicity.

The entire album was given a fresh new audiophile mix by Midori Takada herself and was mastered at Emil Berliner Studios, with half speed cutting for the vinyl version, to ensure an audio presentation aligned with the Japanese pioneer’s vision.

This Tree of Life reissue follows two newly recorded Midori Takada albums, Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter and You Who Are Leaving To Nirvana, both available on WRWTFWW Records, along with her 1983 masterpiece, Through The Looking Glass.

TRACK LISTING

Tracklist LP:
A1. Love Song Of Urfa
A2. Tan Tejah
A3. Tayurani
A4. Wa-Na-Imba
B1. Modoki 1 (Futa-Aya-Asobi )
B2. Awase 1 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B3. Yukiai (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B4. Awase 2 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B5. Orifusi (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
B6. Modoki 2 (Futa-Aya-Asobi
B7. Awase 3 (Futa-Aya-Asobi) B8. Usuyo (Futa-Aya-Asobi)

Tracklist CD:
01. Love Song Of Urfa
02. Tan Tejah
03. Tayurani
04. Wa-Na-Imba
05. Modoki 1 (Futa-Aya-Asobi )
06. Awase 1 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
07. Yukiai (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
08. Awase 2 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
09. Orifusi (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
10. Modoki 2 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
11. Awase 3 (Futa-Aya-Asobi)
12. Usuyo (Futa-Aya-Asobi)

WRWTFWW Records reissues Swiss cult band Grauzone’s self-titled album in an expanded 40 Years Anniversary Edition packed with the original 1981 album plus 9 extra songs, as well as extensive liner notes by Swiss music historian Lurker Grand. The 19-track album is available as a double LP vinyl in heavy 350gsm sleeve and a digipack CD, both sourced from the original reels and put together under the supervision of band member and all around legend Stephan Eicher.

The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".

Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.

This extended version of their debut (and only) album beautifully crystallizes the Grauzone miracle/accident - where pop and youthful experimentation meet at (new/cold/no) wave and industrial crossroads, and where classic hits ("Eisbär", "FILM 2", "Raum", "Träume Mit Mir", "Der Weg Zu Zweit"…) flawlessly mesh with unconventional deep cuts ("In Der Nacht", "Film 1", "Maikäfer Flieg"…). Very simply put: GOOD timeless music with an edge.

Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label. 

TRACK LISTING

Tracklist 2LP:
A1. Film 2
A2. Schlachtet!
A3. Hinter Den Bergen
A4. Maikäfer Flieg
A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
B1. Wütendes Glas
B2. Kälte Kriecht
B3. Kunstgewerbe
B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
B5. In Der Nacht
C1. Eisbär
C2. Ich Lieb Sie
C3. Moskau
C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
D1. Träume Mit Mir
D2. Ich Und Du
D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
D4. Raum
D5. Film 1

Tracklisting CD:
01. Film 2
02. Schlachtet!
03. Hinter Den Bergen
04. Maikäfer Flieg
05. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
06. Wütendes Glas
07. Kälte Kriecht
08. Kunstgewerbe
09. Der Weg Zu Zweit
10. In Der Nacht
11. Eisbär
12. Ich Lieb Sie
13. Moskau
14. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
15. Traüme Mit Mir
16. Ich Und Du
17. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
18. Raum
19. Film 1

WRWTFWW continue to RWTFTW this week with the first official reissue of crazy J-wave grail "Lingua Franca-1" by Kyoto crew EP-4. Originally released in 1983, this sampler mashing, distorto-clashing, gear grinding stormer is essential listening for fans of Liquid Liquid, PiL, Talking Heads, Colored Music, Grauzone, David Bowie, Yello.

Straight from the delirious minds of unconventional geniuses Kaoru Sato (who had previously released an album as R.N.A. Organism on legendary Osaka label Vanity Records) and Yuji "Banana" Kawashima, "Lingua Franca-1" is a seamless voyage of spellbinding mutant funk grooves, joyful post-punk explorations, synth fantasies, sexy distortions, and fluid cool-no-sweat vocals. Constantly mutating in an almost biological way (similarly to Colored Music’s self-titled album), always mysterious and seductive, sometimes reminiscing of a freaky cross between PiL, Liquid Liquid, Bowie and Yello, EP-4’s debut is hard to label, although "Debonair Wave" could be a legitimate way to describe this Japan’s best-kept-secret of an album.

Defying the rules wasn’t limited to sonic experimentations for band leader Kaoru Sato. To promote Lingua Franca-1, he and his crew plastered gigantic (illegal) billboards all over Shibuya and Harajuku, announcing performances in four different cities on odd hours of the same day (May 5th 1983). Other of his notable antics included originally sub-titling the album Death to the Emperor Showa causing a controversy (which led to censorship and a title-change), trying to release two albums on the same day without the concerned labels being aware of the plan or, in the R.N.A. Organism days, fooling Vanity Records into believing the demo he sent them came from a foreign band (it worked). Unique personality, unique music!

TRACK LISTING

01. Robothood Process
02. The Frump Jump
03. Similar
04. Coconut
05. E-Power
06. Talkin’ Trash
07. Broken Bi-Psycle
08. Tide Gauge

An incredible mix of cosmic new wave, unconventional disco, avant-garde synth pop, and hybrid electronic funk, Colored Music is enchantingly unique, a sort of experimental and magnetizing take on David Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy with a psychedelic Haruomi Hosono touch.

From the groovy post-punk glam title track to the proto-house dance floor killer "Heartbeat", Ichiko Hashimoto and Atsuo Fujimoto hit all the right (and sometimes not-exactly-right-but-truly-genius) notes to create the odd and beautiful, an unparalleled audio escape to the best elsewhere you can think of.
Also playing on the album are celebrated musicians Mansaku Kimura, Shuichi “Ponta” Murakami (Pacific, KI-Motion by MKWAJU ensemble, collaborations with Jun Fukamachi, Yasuaki Shimizu, Haruomi Hosono…) Kiyohiko Semba, Tamio "Doyo" Kawabata, and Tatsuhiko Hizawa.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: WRWTFWW continue to mine the rich seam of underground Japanese gems with an ace reissue of Colored Music's self titled LP. Fusing glam, art-rock, avant pop, synth wave and twisted disco, the duo created a unique album for thinking, dreaming and dancing.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Colored Music
A2. Anticipation
A3. Ei Sei Raku
A4. Sanctuary
B1. Too Much Money
B2. Love Hallucination
B3. Third Eye - Clear Light
B4. Heartbeat

WRWTFWW Records follow their universally acclaimed release of "Through The Looking Glass" with the official reissue of legendary album "KI-Motion" by Japanese percussionist Midori Takada’s MKWAJU ensemble, sourced from the original masters and available in two versions: a vinyl LP cut at Emil Berliner Studios and housed in 350g old Stoughton tip-on sleeve, and a digipak CD.
A highly creative and transcendental fusion of marimba, vibraphone, bamboo percussion and synthesizers, KI-Motion was recorded in 1981 and captures the birth of Midori Takada’s exploration of minimalism, African rhythmic tradition, and ambient music.
The album takes its conceptual inspiration from the tamarind ( 'mkwaju' in Swahili), a drought resistant tree notably used to craft some of the first mallets and marimbas but also known for its culinary and medical uses, an essential symbol of life and identity for the Central African grasslands. Drawing from the region’s culture and music as well as the crucial notion that rhythms represent the very fabric of life, Midori Takada leads her ensemble into environmental heaven to create one of the highlights of her recording career and an absolute must-have from the golden age of Japanese ambient…the ideal companion to her majestic "Through The Looking Glass" opus!

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: WRWTFWW revisit magnificent Midori Takada for this reissue of the 1981 LP from her MKWAJU ensemble. (Slightly) Less esoteric than her better known "Through The Looking Glass", "KI-Motion" hits us with weird-wave dancers, ambient dreamers and lysergic lullabies, all inspired by the tamarind. Tasty fusion tackle from my favourite Japanese percussionist.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl LP:
A1 Wood Dance
A2 Maximum
A3 KI-Motion
B1 Angwora Steps
B2 Hot Air
B3 Zindo Zindo

CD:
01 Wood Dance
02 Maximum
03 KI-Motion
04 Angwora Steps
05 Hot Air
06 Zindo Zindo

WRWTFWW Records is delighted to announce the release of the complete soundtrack of cult French animated TV series Les Shadoks (1968-1974) by Robert Cohen-Solal, available for the first time ever in its entirety. Right in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jacques Rouxel and René Borg’s legendary television cartoon, this collector’s item comes in two versions: a limited edition 12" + 7" vinyl album housed in a high glossy gatefold and with an exclusive Shadok drawing by Robert Cohen-Solal, and a digipack CD. Both versions are cut and mastered from the original reels under the supervision of the artist, and contain liner notes in French and English.

Electro-acoustic pioneer and eminent member of the illustrious GRM (Groupe de recherches musicales, the French equivalent of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop), Robert Cohen-Solal has explored music and sound alongside luminaries such as Bernard Parmegiani, Pierre Henry, Luc Ferrari, and Iannis Xenakis, and is responsible for numerous projects in the field of applied music, soundtracks (documentaries, shorts etc.), and experimental recordings. His work on Les Shadoks is simply extraordinary - a fascinating and bizarre collage of wacky electro pop (à la Jean-Jacques Perrey), drones, musique concrète, classical, and dadaist sound experiments seamlessly mixing into a cohesive and cinematic listening experience. The ideal soundtrack for what will remain one of the weirdest animated TV series ever created!

A true literary, cultural and philosophical phenomenon in France, Les Shadoks caused a sensation while airing between 1968 and 1974. Its unique combination of Alfred Jarry-style surrealism, off-centered British humor, and US comic strip inspiration, all brought to life by illustrated bird-like creatures (reminiscent of Paul Klee’s La machine à gazouiller), left a lasting mark, making the term Shadok an often-used satirical expression to describe policies and attitudes considered to be absurd.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Les Shadocks are a new one to me, but a cursory listen and glance over the sales notes suggests a definite Clangers vibe, mais en Francais. That's right, an interplanetary animation soundtrack from the home of musique concrete - totally bonkers in the most charming way.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Introduction
A2 C’était Il Y A Très Très Très Longtemps
A3 Cosmogol 999 Carburant De La Fusée Gibi
A4 Au Fond Du Cosmos
A5 Le Lancinant Voyage Dans L’espace
A6 Les Humeurs Géophysiques De La Planète Shadok
A7 Le Devin Plombier Soigne Un Shadok Malade
A8 La Machine à Pomper Dite Cosmopompe
A9 Le Professeur Shadoko Parle De Son Invention
A10 Shadok à Bicyclette Dans Une Route Et Sur Et Sous Et Dans Des Escaliers
B1 Thème Gibi Classique
B2 Air Gibi Hot
B3 Air Gibi Sériel
B4 Menuet Variation
B5 Départ Solennel De La Shadokaravelle
B6 Sérénade à Gégène
B7 Faux Départ
B8 Fête Gibi Et Errance Des Shadoks Dans L’espace
B9 Fuite Dans L’espace
B10 La Planète à Poissons
B11 Guerre Musicale
B12 Ambiance Nouilles
B13 Difficile De Cuisiner Dans L’espace !

Bonus 7"
A1 Arrivée Des Shadoks Sur Terre
B1 Fuite Des Shadoks