Let me also note that Tzadik is now available in the U.S., and it looks like their prices have dropped (for the most part). Morton Feldman's Patterns in a Chromatic Field is one track, 80 munites, for 49 cents. Other Tzadik release are 49 cents a track, so some albums are cheaper to get on a track-by-track basis rather than purchasing a the album price (Andras: The Book of Angels Vol. 28 by the Nova Express is 10 tracks for 4.90, or album at 5.99, with no reason to purchase the album as an album). Check it out.
Laraaji - Celestial Vibration $.99 Laraaji - Om Namah Shivaya - .99/Sun Zither $.99/ Tonings - $.99/Celestrana/Deep Chimes Meditation $.99 (these 4 are all part of a set on Leaving Records)
Some great stuff mentioned here. I downloaded one of the Robyn Hitchcock boxes, and randomly picked Vasks: Sala / Musica appassionata / Credo for $1.99. Quite lovely and complex and contemporary. I'll catch the other stuff later.
Great album, great price. Gives me an irrational desire to buy it again.
ETA: Avifaunal by Pausal, another ambient/drone artist whose work I admire, is $0.99 on the same label. These look like errors to me (other albums on the label are up to $7.99) so be prompt. There are albums mentioned earlier on this thread that have become unavailable.
ETA2 And another Dronarivm on for 0.99 - Recomposition by Pleq. Don't know this one.
As noted on the now listening thread, I've been delving back through some old post-rock stuff and enjoyed A Burning Light by The Autumn Project quite a bit. Moody post-metal instrumentals. It's $1.99 at emusic. Various reviews here.
Here's another excellent older post-rock album at a good price: Grails - Burning Off Impurities, $3.49. Good bargains on some of their other titles too. And this probably means it's worth digging through the Temporary Residence catalog for good prices. Like Parlour - s/t for $3.99 for instance.
For post-rock likers, the Mylene Sheath label has excellent prices on several releases, including the most recent Jakob album. And Giants, s/t, is 99 cents (though the Caspian and Jakob stuff is IMHO better.)
Not on Sub Rosa, but Michel Banabila's excellent Route Planner collaboration with Mete Erker is $0.99 for 49:05 (caution--there's another Route Planner, apparently identical, on emusic for $3.99--still a bargain, though).
And if you're in the mood for some Gyuto Monks chanting, check out The Perfect Jewel by the Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir, on the Smithsonian Folkways label, almost an hour for $0.49.
Continuing the ambient/avante-garde theme, I wanted to note two albums by William Basinski that are really cheap. Basinski does drone/experimental stuff with found tapes.
Basinski is best known for his Disintegration Loops -- which consists of 4 different albums which were created by running standard cassette tapes repeatedly and recording how the sounds disintegrated with every iteration. They are beautiful and haunting. Wikipedia says, "the recordings were based on old tape loops which had degraded in quality. While attempting to salvage the recordings in a digital format, the tapes slowly crumbled and left a timestamp history of their demise."
Emusic has three of the 4 albums up at standard price, but album four called Disintegration Loops IV (at 70 minutes) costs only 99 cents. I think one album is good enough to give you an idea of what it's about.
There is a more recent album available called The River . 2 tracks, 93 minutes for 49 cents. It sounds a little more alive and less somber than Disintegration Loops. Aha, according to this Pitchfork review, it is a work from the 1980s. But both are interesting.
For German prof, thanks for the recommendations about Tiento de las Nieves and Inscriptions. I thought Avifaunal was pretty great too.
Thanks, @idiotprogrammer - grabbed the D-Loops album. And you're welcome. I am enjoying Avifaunal a lot too. By Basinski, Vivian & Ondine (45 mins) is also 0.49, as is Divertissement (the samples of which sound great).
There's a reissue label called Doxy that's probably been mentioned around here before that has some good prices; seems to be about $.99 per disk; I got a Bill Evans Trio 1960 at Birdland for $.99 - not the best sound quality or provenance, but still pretty good deals.
That Bolton Inscriptions album is pretty terrific. Stands out from a lot of lot of other sonic experiences. I guess I should mention that I bought Nirvana Haze from Alonefold (mentioned on previous page of this thread). Really great stuff. I'll pick up more by that artist later.
Here's a treat. This amazing Ukrainian electronic group performed live on this year's Eurovision -- purely as a timefiller, but I think it was the best performance of the evening. (here's the performance on youtube).
Imagine Madonna singing some folk-electronica song with lots of strange symphonic instruments and dancing.
Emusic has some of their stuff. Here's the 5 track Vidlik album for $1.99. Emusic has one other earlier longer album for $4.49
Acc/to Wikipedia, "Louis Andriessen (born 6 June 1939) is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He is a lecturer at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He was recipient of the Gaudeamus International Composers Award in 1959."
There are only two entries from New Albion Records on emusic (alas!). They are, however, both bargains:
Rothko Chapel by Morton Feldman, $2.49, and Dark Waters by Ingram Marshall, one of my favorite composers, for only $1.99. I hope the rest of the New Albion catalog appears soon.
Comments
Music of Morocco: Recorded by Paul Bowles, 1959
Bobo Yéyé: Belle Époque in Upper Volta
https://www.emusic.com/album/74548357/John-Fahey/Your-Past-Comes-Back-To-Haunt-You-The-Fonotone-Years-1958-1965
Amériques (Edgard Verese) - Piece For Four Pianos (Morton Feldman) - Five Pianos, three tracks 99 cents
Feldman: Beckett Material, three tracks 99 cents
Vasks: Sala / Musica appassionata / Credo, three tracks $1.99
Vetter: Overtones in Old European Cathedrals: Senanque, 2 tracks, 99 cents
Darren McClure - Primary Locations
99 cents.
Laraaji - Celestial Vibration $.99
Laraaji - Om Namah Shivaya - .99/Sun Zither $.99/ Tonings - $.99/Celestrana/Deep Chimes Meditation $.99 (these 4 are all part of a set on Leaving Records)
Okkyyung Lee & Christian Marclay - Amalgam - $.89
Steve Reich - Four Organs/Phase Patterns $.99
Sub Rosa as the three-CD version for 99 cents, if you feel like investing a whole buck on the adventure of this music.
It is currently $1.99 at emusic.
Great album, great price. Gives me an irrational desire to buy it again.
ETA: Avifaunal by Pausal, another ambient/drone artist whose work I admire, is $0.99 on the same label. These look like errors to me (other albums on the label are up to $7.99) so be prompt. There are albums mentioned earlier on this thread that have become unavailable.
ETA2 And another Dronarivm on for 0.99 - Recomposition by Pleq. Don't know this one.
Thomas Köner - Tiento de las Nieves
Recommended at normal price, but a steal at the moment.
Also by Köner, the less accessible Daikan is a longtime favorite of mine and also ridiculously cheap right now.
And here's another Köner bargain.
And another.
And one more.
If you have to pick one, snap up Tiento de las Nieves.
Another bargain I just came across:
$2.99 for Biosphere/Deathprod collaboration:
https://www.emusic.com/album/1098093/Nordheim-Transformed
https://www.emusic.com/album/74545479/Peter-Broderick/Mort-Aux-Vaches
Lawrence English - Kiri No Oto, $0.99
Lawrence English - Approaching Nothing, $0.89
Not on Sub Rosa, but Michel Banabila's excellent Route Planner collaboration with Mete Erker is $0.99 for 49:05 (caution--there's another Route Planner, apparently identical, on emusic for $3.99--still a bargain, though).
And if you're in the mood for some Gyuto Monks chanting, check out The Perfect Jewel by the Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir, on the Smithsonian Folkways label, almost an hour for $0.49.
Basinski is best known for his Disintegration Loops -- which consists of 4 different albums which were created by running standard cassette tapes repeatedly and recording how the sounds disintegrated with every iteration. They are beautiful and haunting. Wikipedia says, "the recordings were based on old tape loops which had degraded in quality. While attempting to salvage the recordings in a digital format, the tapes slowly crumbled and left a timestamp history of their demise."
Emusic has three of the 4 albums up at standard price, but album four called Disintegration Loops IV (at 70 minutes) costs only 99 cents. I think one album is good enough to give you an idea of what it's about.
There is a more recent album available called The River . 2 tracks, 93 minutes for 49 cents. It sounds a little more alive and less somber than Disintegration Loops. Aha, according to this Pitchfork review, it is a work from the 1980s. But both are interesting.
For German prof, thanks for the recommendations about Tiento de las Nieves and Inscriptions. I thought Avifaunal was pretty great too.
By Basinski, Vivian & Ondine (45 mins) is also 0.49, as is Divertissement (the samples of which sound great).
FYI, I just discovered that Free Music Archives has a live version of Basinski's Vivian and Ondine which sounds great and is free!...
Imagine Madonna singing some folk-electronica song with lots of strange symphonic instruments and dancing.
Emusic has some of their stuff. Here's the 5 track Vidlik album for $1.99. Emusic has one other earlier longer album for $4.49
I am enjoying Mausoleum / Hoketus by Louis Andriessen, a mere 49 cents. Trilogie Van De Laatste Dag is 99 cents, and Nocturnen, Ittrospezione III, etc is $1.99.
Acc/to Wikipedia, "Louis Andriessen (born 6 June 1939) is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He is a lecturer at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He was recipient of the Gaudeamus International Composers Award in 1959."
His Winter Music is 99 cents, about an hour of music.
There are only two entries from New Albion Records on emusic (alas!). They are, however, both bargains:
Rothko Chapel by Morton Feldman, $2.49, and Dark Waters by Ingram Marshall, one of my favorite composers, for only $1.99. I hope the rest of the New Albion catalog appears soon.