Ananda Shankar ‘Ananda Shankar’ (Reprise, 1970)
In Ananda Shankar’s relatively short lifetime, the Indian sitar player was never afraid to push boundaries.
Charlie Tate ‘Alta Plana’ (OM, 2005)
Without any announcement at all, Alta Plana appeared in 2005 as a digital-only release and promptly disappeared.
Nick Nicely ‘Psychotropia’ (Tenth Planet, 2003)
Born on a transatlantic flight layover in 1959, from the moment he took his first breath there was always going to be something a little different about Nick Nicely.
Yagya ‘Rigning’ (Sending Orbs, 2009)
Is dub techno having a resurgence? Did it ever really go away?
Higher Intelligence Agency, ‘Colourform’, (Beyond, 1993)
"Chris was the older brother of my high school best friend. He had the hippest taste in music, but he was also really intimidating."
Amanda Lear ‘Sweet Revenge’ (Ariola, 1978)
Amanda Lear’s ‘Sweet Revenge’ sold remarkably well on the continent when eurodisco was in its infancy in 1978, even if it made little headway in the UK
I Start Counting ‘My Translucent Hands’ (Mute, 1986)
"Of the various musical guises assumed by David Baker and Simon Leonard, it was arguably their first – I Start Counting – which saw them at their most multifarious"
Bill Nelson ‘Chimera’ (Mercury, 1983)
Say what you will about the rise of algorithms, but on occasion they do get it right.
Hailu Mergia ‘Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument: Shemonmuanaye’ (Kaifa, 1985 / Awesome Tapes FROM Africa, 2013)
When searching for pioneers of electronic futurism, how many of us would consider the golden age of Ethiopian jazz-funk to be an obvious port of call?
Eyeless In Gaza ‘Photographs As Memories’ (Cherry Red, 1981)
Eyeless In Gaza were formed in Nuneaton in 1980 by hospital worker Martyn Bates and lab assistant Pete Becker.