Hello, and welcome to Issue One of the Vortex Specialty Mailing List. This may end up long so I'm gonna try and be as brief as possible.

There are two parts to this email: things we can get if you special order them and things we have just received or that are on the way already. If you special order something--it'll be just for you and won't hit the floor for other customers. If it's on its way or we just received it, we cannot put it on hold; it will be sold on a first come first served basis. As my mom would say: "Them's the rules. Them's the breaks." If you want to be guaranteed a copy, you need to place your order before I order it from the distributor/label.

Lastly, note that any record descriptions are from the label or distributor press release. Unless it specifically says so, the comment is not my own words.

Now... here are the items I've found of interest from our distributors in the past week or so...

Omar Khorshid
Guitar El Chark (Guitar of the Orient)
2LP - Sublime Frequencies

The late Omar Khorshid remains an iconic legend of the Arab world, though he's received criminally little international acclaim. Born in Cairo in 1945, the glittering age of Egypt's cultural reinvention, Khorshid was soon to become one of its luminaries and most well-known, if short-lived, voices. He is regarded as the greatest guitarist the Arab world has ever known. By the mid-'60s, Khorshid was established with his group Le Petit Chats, an Egyptian beat group modeled after the prevailing influence of Elvis and The Beatles.

This limited edition 2LP vinyl release features over 80 minutes of classic original recordings compiled by Sublime Frequencies housed in a beautiful full-color gatefold jacket with extensive liner notes.

Coil / The New Blockaders / Vortex Campaign
Melancholy Mad Tenant
LP - Available Now - Important Records

"Limited edition of 500 copies on 180 gram vinyl. Originally released on cassette in 1984 and then on cd in an edition of 500. In 1984 Vortex Campaign invited Coil and The New Blockaders to collaborate. The result, unofficially referred to as "Dolbied", was released on cassette in an edition of 50. The release has since gone on to become legendary, showcasing two of the most influential groups in the scene at the early stages of their development. "The Melancholy Mad Tenant" is an authorised release, sanctioned by all three groups."

"Formed in 1983 the output of Coil has ranged from the avant-garde, to experimental neoclassical, to extended excursions into pure electronica. Many bands and composers have cited Coil as an influence. Coil were mainly a studio group, but in 2000 they commenced a succesful series of tours that proved to be extremely remarkable events. The New Blockaders began in 1982 with the release of the debut LP "Changez Les Blockeurs" which is cited by many as a defining moment in the history of noise music. TNB have gone on to influence a generation of artists from Japanese noise-maestro Merzbow to noise punks Wolf Eyes."

Lincoln says: We've already had this record in the store once. It sold within minutes. I am going to try and get more so if you're keen, let me know.

Machinefabriek
Loops for Voerman
Machinefabriek (Netherlands)
CD - Available Now

Music for a sculpture by Rob Voerman, composed by Rutger Zuydervelt. Originally presented on a three way speaker system, 11 and 12 September, in Beeldenpark Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht (NL). This is a manufactured cd edition, following a very limited cdr edtition. What Boomkat said aout Loops for Voerman: "The more Rutger Zuydervelt's output has slowed down, the more he seems to fascinate. Despite only delivering a handful of new works this year, each new release has brought with it something new to the table, with this remarkable 15 minute disc containing the most intensely affecting Machinefabriek recording since last year's career-defining 'Dauw'. 'Loops For Voerman' was recorded as part of an art installation/sculpture by Rob Voerman but, oddly, doesn't rely on any visual association for its unique, almost harrowing quality. Bowed strings take on a metallic, razor-like identity, with vocal shards and found sounds arranging themselves throughout the looped cycle of the track, each time re-positioning themselves with an almost imperceptible shift of emphasis. The technical effect is similar to that created by Deathprod on the incredible 'Treetop Drive', albeit with a completely different sound palette, but the track is no less impressive in its execution, exposing ever expansive stretches of sound as the track unfolds. Originally performed on a three-way speaker system, one can only imagine the impact on the listener with all that extra movement of sound, intensifying an already overpowering aural experience and delivering one of the most valuable artefacts yet in the already mightily impressive Machinefabriek canon. Very highly recommended."

Mixtapes & Cellmates
Rox
Quince Records (Japan)
CD - Available Now

"Stockholm combo Mixtapes & Cellmates return with "Rox," their highly anticipated second album. Previous albums and EPs were compared with The Radio Dept and Postal Service. The band is now a 5 piece with a new drummer and three lead singers. While the rock elements of guitar feedback, up-down rhythms, and judicious keyboard usage hint at the influence of Primal Scream's "Give Out But Don't Give Up", the group's distinct melodies and fantastic song writing are intact and better than ever. "Rox" was engineered by Johan Gustafsson (Last Days of April) and recorded at Studio Grondahl. The Japanese edition of Rox features two exclusive bonus tracks: "Summer" and "Apoidea."

Piano Magic
Ovations
Darla Records (USA)
180g Vinyl w/ dl coupon - Available Now
Limited to 500

"10th official album by London-based Anglo-French coldwave group, Piano Magic. Features special guests Brendan Perry and Peter Ulrich of Dead Can Dance.

It's difficult to know what propels Piano Magic. Here's a group that despite releasing over 30 records since their debut in 1996 have managed to sidestep anything resembling accolades. Though it was they who coaxed Vashti Bunyan out of a 30 year retirement for their 2001 album, Writers Without Homes, the credit went to the hipper Devendra Banhart and Animal Collective. Further collaborations with the likes of Low and Cornershop were quickly papered over. A beautiful soundtrack for Spanish film director, Bigas Luna, was lost to all but Spain's video stores. Regular tours and festival headlines throughout Italy, France, Germany and Spain may have paid off with a devout Continental following but haven't particularly translated into press or record sales. Records for the likes of 4AD, Morr Music and Darla have anchored them in "cult" status. Even so, after 13 years beneath a cloud of indifference Piano Magic have made some of the most compelling, poetic, dynamic and romantic records of our time.

Ovations, released October 12th is no exception. Recorded May through August of 2009 by Gareth Parton (The Go-Team, The Breeders, Pete & The Pirates) at his petite La Planque studio and The Fortress in London, Ovations is the Anglo-French group's 10th album proper. Typically for a Piano Magic record it's a restless beast; a record that swings wildly between Marrakesh, Eastern Europe, Sevilla and early 80s Manchester without breaking a sweat. Piano Magic have always worn their influences on their sleeves. The Chameleons, Joy Division and The Cure rub shoulders with Turkish darabuka, hammered dulcimer, viola, cello, flamenco claps. Elsewhere there are cold analogue synths, chiming guitars, mournful piano and industrial percussion.

Piano Magic's fascination with Eastern European percussion is in part much due to one of their biggest influences -- the Melbourne-born though World-wise 4AD Records-signed group, Dead Can Dance. And it's no small coup that Ovations features not only DCD's supreme percussionist/dulcimer, Peter Ulrich but also the voice of principal songwriter, Brendan Perry on two tracks ("You Never Loved This City" and "The Nightmare Goes On"). The reclusive Perry, himself, a very recent convert to Piano Magic's music was only happy to sing with a group that by his own admission, were making "the most beautiful music" he's heard for a long time.

Whether this new album is quickly consigned to a dusty drawer in the museum of musical curios like so many other Piano Magic records is yet to be seen but there's more depth, soul, variety, dynamic, romance, emotion here than many groups manage in their entire careers."

Durutti Column
Paen to Wilson
Kooky (UK)
2CD - Available Now

Paean to Wilson is arguably Vini Reilly and the Durutti Columns most important and consistent piece of work since the demise of the original and seminal Factory Records in the early 1990's. Manchester International Festival of Music commissioned it, for their festival in July 2009. Vini had already composed pieces for Tony to listen to whilst he was ill in hospital and it was from here that the project developed. 'Near the beginning of the final night of the Durutti Column's 70-minute international festival tribute to Tony Wilson, A Paean to Wilson, guitarist Vini Reilly announced that he wouldn't be singing: "So you won't have to put up with my awful voice and schoolboy lyrics." If Wilson was with us, he would have chuckled. The Granada presenter-turned-Factory Records boss spent years urging his first signing to stop singing, and concentrate on the virtuosity that led Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante to call Reilly "the greatest guitarist in the world". Two years after his death, Wilson got his way, one of many lovely touches in a very personal, emotional and often warmly funny musical tribute. Wilson signed Joy Division and Happy Mondays, yet never gave up on this cult band he adored, working with them even after his legendary label went bankrupt. A complex man, Wilson was an academic thinker who revelled in Steve Coogan's affectionate, Alan Partridge-style send-up of him as a "twat". And this tribute was no different. At one point, Reilly - known for melancholy - launched into something resembling an Irish jig. "Tony loved to laugh," he explained. "He loved absurdities."

After the humour came exquisitely mournful music. With Reilly and drummer Bruce Mitchell augmented by bass, keyboard, violin, electric piano, drum machine and trumpet, the band's beautiful pieces reflected Wilson's love of rock and classical. Reilly's plangent guitar work showed grief's emotional spectrum, from sadness to overdriven anger. As in life, Wilson had the last word, his recorded voice expounding thoughts on socialism with an eerie echo. Silence followed as Manchester pondered the loss of one of its truly larger-than-life characters. Then everybody cheered.' The bonus disc first appeared in 2005 via Wilson's project F4, as being the fourth version of Factory Records. Originally it was download-only release, Heaven Sent (It Was Called Digital, It Was Heaven Sent). This is the first time that it has appeared on a physical format. It was a six track CD of personal dedications by Vini ironically the last piece being Anthony. Ever critical of Vini's voice, but ever a fierce champion of his talent, the late Tony Wilson would surely appreciate this instrumental tribute by The Durutti Column. We have consciously chosen the release date as 24th January marking the 32nd anniversary of the day Factory Records formed in 1978. Their publishing company was m24j - movement of the twenty fourth of January.

Grouper and other Root Strata titles
Cover The Windows And The Walls
Root Strata
CD
Limited to 1000 copies

We have an order coming in of releases on the Root Strata label. Like the Digitalis label I brought in last week, Root Strata specializes in small runs of ambient / drone / experimental music. If you see something in their catalog that you're keen on, let me know immediately as they're finalizing our order this week. Here's the description of this fine Grouper release:

First ever CD version of the LP we originally did in 2007. This one has everything you've come to expect from Portland, OR. based Liz Harris. Cyclical vocal vapors and guitar / piano shapes levitate on the surface of hissy atmospherics dense with a feedback that conjures up all sorts of latent images from the subtle body / mind. Liz's songs always seem to be perched delicately between layers of blissful fuzz and her stark, gorgeous song craft. It's a mix that more often than not leads to dazzling results. Edition of 1000 CD's in a heavy black & white offset printed cover.

Robyn Hitchcock
Luminous Groove
Yep Roc
8LP

The second in a series of Robyn Hitchcock retrospective box sets from Yep Roc, the 8LP Luminous Groove box set shines a light on Robyn's rock & roll renaissance with the Egyptians. In 1985 Robyn's newest group, with ex-Soft Boys Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor plus keyboardist Roger Jackson, marked the next stage in the career of one of popular music's most unique creators. Fegmania! is a return to band format, showcasing the new outfit through sonic tapestries around Hitchcock's signature skittered melodies and private lyrics. On Element of Light, The Egyptians glide between regal pop and driving psychedelia, resulting in of the most deliberate and nuanced college rock records of the decade. Gotta Let This Hen Out! captures a blazing live set by the Egyptians from London's Marquee club in early 1985. The band blasts through new and old Hitchcock classics, effortlessly blending the show into what amounts to a live best-of collection and reminding fans that Robyn's legend is built as much on loud guitars as it is on eerie metaphors and jagged melodies. All three albums contain new bonus tracks exclusive to Luminous Groove.

In addition to these three seminal albums, the set also includes two exclusive bonus discs entitled Bad Case of History which features previously unreleased studio recordings, including the final 1994 sessions, with unheard live material. Just as with Yep Roc's first box set collection I Wanna Go Backwards, the curation of Fegmania!, Element of Light and Gotta Let This Hen Out! into one box set encapsulates a critical portion of the creative life of Britain's Mad Hatter of pop and further illuminates Hitchcock's gloriously mysterious Luminous Groove.

Lissie
Why You Runnin'?
Fat Possum
EP

The label doesn't offer up much of a description of Lissie's music, but that's okay, because you can hear it for yourself on her two Daytrotter sessions.

Her first release, Why You Runnin'?, a 5-song EP came out in November. Here's what Allmusic had to say: "...mixes Americana, folk, and Southern balladry into swirling patterns. Recorded in her adopted hometown of Ojai, CA -- one of the few places in the world to have a "pink moment" at sunset, where rose-colored light splashes across the Topatopa Mountains -- the songs are indebted to the stunning geography that inspired them, and Lissie uses her vocals to conjure up landscapes of rivers, prairieland, and heartache. She's a fantastic singer, blessed with enough power to rival a pop vocalist but more aligned with folk sirens like Neko Case and Patty Griffin. On "Wedding Bells," she tweaks an old Hank Williams song by adding minor chords, handclaps, and thickly stacked harmonies, while the piano ballad "Oh Mississippi" (produced by Ed Harcourt, no stranger to piano ballads himself) finds her serenading the river that bordered her childhood home. Why You Runnin' may only be an EP -- one can only hope Lissie has enough slow-smoked melody in her arsenal to sustain an entire album -- but it's one of 2009's finest folk releases regardless."

Charlotte Gainsbourg
I.R.M.
Because
4 X 10" + DVD + CD - Feb 2
$TBD - Email me for a quote

"Limited Collector Boxset Edition of Charlotte's latest album, produced by BECK. Here you have, in a wicked 10" box-set the entire album, spanning across 3 vinyl 10"s, along with a 4th exclusive remixes pack including reworks from Grizzly Bear, Jackson, and Diskjokke. You'll also get the full album on CD, along with extra studio session, live footage, interview and videoclips DVD. And to top it up, it's also filled with 4x10" picture photos.

The regular 2LP version of this release is available for $32

Numero Group

CDs and LPs

Many of you have purchased Numero Group titles from us on vinyl. We're about to bring in another order from them so if there's something specific that you're interested in, please let me know asap. In addition, we will also be stocking their CDs. They should be the best prices in Toronto, however, just as we offer on vinyl. If you place an order with me before I place my own order, I'll give you an exact price and stick to it.

Their entire catalog is listenable on their web site.

Pavement

Quarantine The Past: Greatest Hits 1989-1999

CD and LP (w/ dl code)

March 9

$Special price for mailing list subscribers!

So, Pavement have re-united and to celebrate they're releasing a double LP and single CD greatest hits.

Since I hate to see other people celebrate while not celebrating myself, I'm saying we all celebrate the first issue of the Vortex Specialty Item Mailing List by offering this baby up as cheap as possible.

If you pre-order this collection on or before February 1 (a week today!), you can have it for our total cost + $1.

I will not be sending out a reminder about this and it's not available at this price to anyone who isn't on the mailing list. If you want it, please pre-order now. Order limit is 2 copies per person.

I don't expect you to commit not knowing the price so if you're keen, shoot me an email and I'll get you the pricing info as soon as I have it--then, you can decide.

Here's the label description:

Quarantine The Past: The Best Of Pavement comes out on March 9, 2010. This fully remastered 23-track compilation will be available on CD and double LP formats. The tracks span the entirety of Pavement's career from 1989 to 1999, from the scratchy and mysterious sounds of their early vinyl-only releases to the rich, multilayered warmth of their final recordings. Although the compilation does not include any unreleased material, it definitely digs deeper than the hits.

Quarantine The Past lands in stores as Pavement embark on their first live appearances since the fall of 1999. Dates begin in New Zealand on March 1 and continue through Australia and Europe over the spring and summer, with 4 dates in New York's Central Park next September. More US shows will be announced shortly.

Okay, that's all I got for the first issue. If you see anything you want, let me. And remember, we have access to 10s of thousands of other titles. If there's something you're looking for, email me and I'll let you know if we can get it. Thanks!

Lincoln