Faithful in the Kansas label, I Flashmen released in 1972 their second album "Pensando", moving closer to Italian Prog and abandoning for the first time the pop sinsibilities of their debut. While not on par with the very best Italian albums of the period, I Flashmen's second offering is a deep fanfare of organ-tinged Psych/Prog with a few Classical nuances and still strong 60's inspirations, but the music is pretty harder, rockier and definitely more interesting than on their bittersweet and rather immature first album. Influences from early New Trolls, Le Orme during their transitional period and Hunka Munka are quite obvious with the tracks being led by the blisterring Hammond organ of Silver Scivoli along with his fantastic voice…

Bliss with founding members Steffen Aaskoven, Marc-George Andersen, with Alexandra Hamnede (vocals) and Tchando (vocals) is an international chillout music collective from Denmark, Sweden and Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Since 2001, they have become one of the true Chillout underground acts. Releasing material on the Danish label, Music for Dreams, appearing on more than 60 compilations worldwide and in such tv shows as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Vocalists Tchando and Alexandra Hamnede provide Bliss with soulful performances that reflect their alternately African-tinged and jazz-based foundations, resulting in an ethereal stew of pan-global atmosphere.

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce a newly remastered and expanded edition of the classic album by Progressive Rock trio Spontaneous Combustion. Formed in 1971, the band was originally known as Transient Sand and was managed by local promoter John House, a friend of Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Through this association Lake offered to produce the band, now known as Spontaneous Combustion. With Lake’s interest confirmed a recording contract was arranged with Harvest in the closing months of 1971. "Triad” was the band’s second album, released in October 1972 and over the coming years has become a sought after Prog Rock classic. This Esoteric Recordings reissue includes three bonus tracks from the band’s singles of the period, two of which are previously unreleased on CD…

I Saw The World's End - Hangman's Hymn MMXXV is a fully re-recorded version of their 2007 album Hangman's Hymn. Described as a modernized and improved rendition, it features new members and a dynamic production, capturing Sigh's full symphonic black metal vision.
Over nearly four decades and twelve albums, Sigh have been an unparalleled force, pushing the envelope in the avant-garde and black metal genres. The Japanese outfit have continually redefined themselves and confounded expectations throughout their career, beginning with the extreme black metal of 1993’s Scorn Defeat through to the more progressive work of the past few years. Amidst their discography, Hangman’s Hymn (2007) stands out - a tour de force of thrash metal loaded with classical influences and instrumentation…

The debut Jefferson Airplane album was dominated by singer Marty Balin, who wrote or co-wrote all the original material and sang most of the lead vocals in his heartbreaking tenor with Paul Kantner and Signe Anderson providing harmonies and backup. (Anderson's lead vocal on "Chauffeur Blues" indicated she was at least the equal of her successor, Grace Slick, as a belter.) The music consisted mostly of folk-rock love songs, the most memorable of which were "It's No Secret" and "Come up the Years." (There was also a striking version of Dino Valente's "Get Together" recorded years before the Youngbloods' hit version.) Jorma Kaukonen already displayed a talent for mixing country, folk, and blues riffs in a rock context, and Jack Casady already had a distinctive bass sound…

Gerry Mulligan's 1959 studio date with Johnny Hodges is one of the most satisfying sessions of his various meetings with different saxophonists for Verve. With a hand-picked rhythm section consisting of pianist Claude Williamson, bassist Buddy Clark, and drummer Mel Lewis, and three originals contributed by each of the two leaders, everything gels nicely, though several tracks took more than three takes (in spite of liner note writer Nat Hentoff's assertions) to reach their final form. Mulligan contributed the gorgeous ballad "What's the Rush" (where he sat back to enjoy Hodges' solo and never plays his own horn), the easygoing swinger "Bunny," and the brisk cooker "18 Carrots (For Rabbit)," the latter which its composer would revisit with his Concert Jazz Band. The veteran alto saxophonist contributed the low-key ballad "Shady Side," the sassy blues "Back Beat" and "What It's All About," another potent blues…

When Ultra was declared the best Depeche Mode album since Violator, those who said so must have forgotten about Songs of Faith and Devotion. When Exciter was declared the best Depeche Mode album since Violator, those who said so must have also forgotten about Songs of Faith and Devotion, in addition to having found a roundabout way of saying that it was merely better than Ultra. There's no doubt this time: Playing the Angel is both the band's best album since Violator and, more significantly, an album that is near Violator in stature. The biggest clue dropped by the band prior to its release was a quote from Dave Gahan, who said that being in Depeche Mode is better than it has been in 15 years. Some quick math reveals that Gahan was hinting at the Violator era, a time when the band's creativity and popularity peaked synchronously…

Langsyne from Barmen played some sophisticated English-language psych-folk with a large variety of partly exotic instruments like the psaltery, koto, glockenspiel, banjo, flute, slide guitar, or the Jew's harp. Their only LP was released in 1976, as an edition of only 200 copies, and is today sold at a price of about € 1000 to € 2000 in mint condition. It is thus probably the most expensive Krautrock LP except the first edition of "Monster movie" by Can. It contains only self-written tracks. Especially remarkable is that the musical interaction of the three musicians is of somnabulistic perfection. There have been several new editions of "Langsyne", both as LP and as CD, some of them with a bonus track. The Garden of Delights CD has been drawn from the master tapes and contains fifteen bonus tracks, each of them of a perfect sound quality.

This is one of trumpeter Dizzy Reece's finest recordings, a well-planned sextet date with baritonist Cecil Payne, Joe Farrell on tenor and flute, pianist Hank Jones, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Charlie Persip that is on the level of a Blue Note album. Reece (who contributed three diverse originals) performs mostly minor-toned songs that seem to really inspire the musicians. The solos tend to be concise but quite meaningful, and, overall, this hard bop but occasionally surprising session is quite memorable.

Slightly scattershot 1984 LP, originally released on the now-defunct Red Beans logo, that hits more than it misses. At its best - the sardonic title track, a couple of vocals by veteran pianist Jimmy Walker, a stunning "Son of Juke" that spotlights Branch's harp wizardry - it's a fine introduction to the SOBs' multi-faceted attack.

Allan Holdsworth is a legendary figure in the world of Jazz and Rock guitar players. For four decades he has been considered one of the finest exponents of the instrument. Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of the album that saw Holdsworth make his recorded debut, Igginbottom's Wrench. Igginbottom was formed in Bradford in 1968 and also featured Dave Freeman (drums), Steven Robinson (guitar, vocals) and Mick Skelly (bass). Their sole album was originally released by Decca's Deram label in 1969, and featured such innovative pieces as The Castle and Sweet Dry Biscuits. The record also enjoyed the patronage of Jazz legend Ronnie Scott. A criminally under-rated work, Esoteric is proud to present the album to a new audience.

"Dreamworld" is the debut CD from Embrase, a play on Marc Bras' name. It is an absolute treasure and another gem in Groove's catalog of great electronica. This disc features ten relatively short compositions and clocks in at 80 minutes. "Dreamworld" is a record with warm, melodical, rhythmic and easy assessable EM that has the ability to appeal to a lot of EM-fans. The sound is full, rich and the music is played with care. This disc is absolutely essential for Berlin school fans.

A Day to Remember conjure their blistering early work on their eighth studio album and second for Fueled by Ramen, 2025's Big Ole Album, Vol. 1. The Florida metalcore band have streamlined their sound in the decades since their 2005 debut, embracing pop hooks while still digging into the eviscerating guitars and throaty vocals. It's a potent combination that made albums like Homesick, What Separates Me from You, and Common Courtesy so abrasively memorable. With their move to Fueled by Ramen for 2021's You're Welcome, ADTR embarked on the next chapter in their saga, crafting an album that nicely balanced the heavier aspects of their sound with their knack for melodic choruses. They further champion this sweet-and-sour approach on the Big Ole Album, pummeling the listener right from the start in classic fashion with "Make It Make Sense"…

Keef Hartley came to prominence as a member of the British R&B group The Artwoods before joining John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in 1967. He contributed to the album "Crusade" before leaving in 1968 to form the first line-up of his own band. With Gary Thain (bass), Peter Dines (keyboards), Spit James (guitar) and horn section that was a whos who of British jazz (Henry Lowther, Chris Mercer, Lyn Dobson and Harry Beckett), Hartley recorded his first album for Decca's Deram label in March 1969. Now regarded as a classic of the genre, "Halfbreed" is a fine example of the fusion of rock, jazz and blues.

Veteran pianist Steve Kuhn and his trio (with bassist David Finck and drummer Al Foster) dig into six Spanish and Mexican melodies with Quiereme Mucho, turning them into straight-ahead jazz. Latin rhythms are largely absent from a set that includes "Andalucia" ("The Breeze and I"), an up-tempo "Besame Mucho" and "Time Was" ("Duerme"). The music in general is boppish and full of wit, with Kuhn often quoting other unexpected songs along the way. Finck and Foster have their brief spots but this is largely Steve Kuhn's show. The music may have been largely de-Latinized but the result is one of Kuhn's most swinging recordings.