Radiant Heart
Brocken Spectre

EM Records: ...Imagine being a punk rocker before there were any others, or a hippie whose message of peace was infused with a sardonic whimsy. That’s what it must have been like to be Pip Proud, in Sydney in the late 1960s, railing against the media and its hypocrisies, making a music that cut through all lies. — David NicholsPip Proud, sui generis, could be considered an Australian outsider, with his untutored and uninhibited singing style, his primal guitar playing, his resolutely personal vision captured on recordings from 1967 to the early 70s - except that, unlike most outsiders, he was loved and accepted, with two of his three album releases on a major label, with frequent television appearances and coverage in music magazines. Heralded in his native land though he was, he maintained a low profile from the early 70s, never made an impact overseas, and his recordings have been difficult to access.This collection has been selected by Proud's biographer David Nichols and will engender a new appreciation of Proud's music. Considered by some as a sort of Antipodean Syd Barrett, listeners will hear that Pip was clearing his own private and primal path, more poet than pop star, despite the media attention. Other than one Velvets-style band track, all songs here feature Pip solo, some with appealingly primitive overdubs. Fans of ramshackle oddball weirdo portastudio lofi bedroom pop of the 80s, 90s and beyond, whether of the NZ, UK or US varieties, will find a precursor here.

The Wormhole: ...Side A: ‘Vodou’. Head priest: Gran Sèvitè Jean-Daniel Lafontant. Vodou priests: Oungan Eddy Saint-Jean and Anperè Jean Céus. Vodou priestesses: Manbo Françoise Célestin, Manbo Christine Lamour, Manbo Marie-Marthe Similien and Manbo Jacqueline Thélus. Other participants: Ounsi and members of Sosyete Na-Ri-VéH. Percussionists: Ountògi and the drummers of The Sacred Temple Na-Ri-VéH 777.Side B: ‘Rara’. All-female rara band: Forever Rara Fanm of Belair.Grand Rue recordings made by AMé in front of the Atis Rezistans, Port-au-Prince on 21 December 2015, 4:54pm to 5:18pm. Vodou ceremony and all-female rara band recorded by AMé at Temple Na-Ri-VéH 777 in Port-au-Prince, 16 December 2015, 9pm to 1am. Edited by Philip Marshall with AMé in Cologne, 16 May 2016. Mastered by Zachary James Watkins at Stank House, 3 August 2016. Artwork by Stefan Fähler. AD&D by Don Wyrm.