[1989] AMM - AMMMusic 1966

Reissue by Recommended Records from the original 1967 release, which consists on at least 30min extra of free improvisation. Essential material of one of the earliest free improv bands in the history of the style, which borrowed heavily from the jazz basic structure and experimented with electronic equipment, particularly transistor radios.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from ReR Megacorp here.

[1979] Art Bears - Winter Songs

Second Art Bears album, following the stylistic approach started with Hopes and Fears (which contained the written, but unperformed Henry Cow "song-oriented" material). Highly dissonant, reactionary songs, fully exploring the vocal range of Dagmar Krause and the first glances of the avantgarde approach Fred Frith and Chris Cutler were about to fully focus into in the next decades. Not as approachable as The World As It Is Today, but it's definitely a compelling listen for these interested in early avant-prog.

Download it here: [320]

Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[1974] Henry Cow - Unrest

Essential avant-prog/RIO band and one of my all-time favorites, Henry Cow doesn't need much introduction. Pioneers of the Rock In Opposition movement in which their members thrive to compose quality, complex music outside of the common denominator of the big labels (such as Virgin Records at that time, which brought them a lot of problems that ended up in this detachment) and with a strong leftist/socialist leaning, this album is a blend of jazz with progressive rock put forward in a unique way, almost typical of the Canterbury movement but still detaching a lot from its regular style. Almost completely instrumental, it features some vocals from Leigh and Wyatt (who also collaborated with them during Leg End).

Download it here: [320][V0][FLAC Part 1 Part 2] Updated!

Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[1973] Faust - The Faust Tapes (2010 ReR Reissue)

After their s/t, this is essential Faust material, which also has more of the tape manipulation and spoken word bits already present on the s/t and took it somewhere unknown. The standard "krautrock" songs are quickly replaced by weirdness track after track, leaving the listener sometimes completely unaware of what's going on if not enough attention is paid. In my opinion this is material that should be own not only by fans of the genre, but those interested in experimental music in general, seeing as this album set precedents still groundbreaking until our days.

Download it here: [V0] Updated!

Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[1981] Art Bears - The World As It Is Today

An integral part of what became the Henry Cow legacy, Art Bears stands out as one of the most influential, cult-like bands of the rock in opposition/canterbury movement of the late 70's and beginnings of the 80's. The World As It Is Today, their last album, is agressive, dissonant, and full of politics, expressed not only by the acclaimed vocalist Dagmar Krause (in one of her best performances to date), but the complex and (at some points) seemingly random arrangements, which is in fact well structured and rooted in modern classical archetypes and free improvisation. The song Freedom is already considered a classic, in which the rebellious nature of the band (and their stance against corporations and capitalist systems of their time and the present) is fully displayed. Essential listening material.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[2007] Faust & Nurse With Wound - Disconnected

The big krautrock veterans and the experimental collective by definition joined forces in one of the best collaborations the genre has seen. Disconnected resembles the best of Faust's debut with the unpredictability of Nurse With Wound, making them even more bizarre than what they normally are. Six tracks, one of them a live session, in which both projects explore unlikely sounds in a way few would. Essential material for krautrock fans.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Art-Errorist here.
Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.