"The story of Hen Ogledd (Welsh for Old North), one of Britain's more colorful and unusually unpredictable contemporary bands, begins with this duo recording of Richard Dawson and Rhodri Davies, first released in 2013 on an LP in an edition of 250 copies by the Alt.vinyl imprint. This Streamline edition is its first-ever CD release. Hailing from Newcastle, Richard Dawson should not need any introduction, as he has made his name with numerous solo and collaborative outings, while Welshman Rhodri Davies, known for his involvement with the British school of reductionist free improvisation, has collaborated with and performed for a great number of improvisers and composers. Guitar playing singer/songwriter Dawson met with Davies (who is featured here on pedal harp, amplified lap harp, electric harp, percussion and electronics) to produce these five pieces of heavily distorted improvisation that veer refreshingly away from any academic background one might expect at such an encounter. Instead, we find a highly energetic blend of lo-fi rock, improvisation and imaginary folklore that suggests jam sessions between Captain Beefheart's legendary Magic Band and Northern English noise champions The New Blockaders. While this analogy does not seem fully satisfactory and one struggles for words for an appropriate reference, the uniqueness of Hen Ogledd becomes apparent once again. The fact that Hen Ogledd has already become its own best reference here should speak for itself. Hen Ogledd has been remastered for CD from the original source recordings by Jim O'Rourke and is presented in mini-LP sleeves replicating the original LP artwork." - Streamline.
After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.
This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).
Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.
Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.
Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).
So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
