FRANK ZAPPA ALBUMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD...

FZ albums from around the world

- frank zappa: the man from utopia - el hombre de utopia
(1983, lp, argentina, cbs 20.459)
promo stamp on album cover & label
- the mothers: imaginario sandwich quemado
(1972, lp, argentina, music hall 14.011)
- frank zappa: the man from utopia
(1983, lp, japan, cbs/sony 25ap 2642)
- frank zappa: ship arriving too late too save a drowning witch
(1982, lp, japan, cbs/sony 25ap 2362)

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CRANK SOME FRANK FESTIVAL IN THE HAGUE, NL

 

TREY ANASTASIO PLAYING FZ'S ROXY SG GUITAR

treyanastasio : Our friends at @family_guitars brought over a few incredible guitars from their collection for me to play today, including Frank Zappa’s early 1960s Gibson “Roxy” SG

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VfCCxFLL--E

KVÅRK - THE ASTRAL MAZE

• KVÅRK: The Astral Maze
      (2026, download / streaming, bandcamp)

A digital version of KVÅRK's "The Astral Maze" landed on my hard disk this morning.

KVÅRK is an instrumental progressive metal quartet from Marseille, France, whose music is characterized by irregular rhythms and death metal heaviness against hypnotic, slow-burning post-rock atmospheres.

Formed in 2017 by guitarists Eric Lamblot and Christophe Gervasi as a studio project, the group later expanded into a full quartet with bassist Bruno Morgana and drummer Frédéric Cagnol. Their compositions balance angular, dissonant metal riffs with repetitive, ambient passages that build tension gradually.
Working entirely without vocals, the band relies on four interlocking instrumental voices to guide listeners through multi-part cosmic and sci-fi soundscapes.

Following their 2020 five-track EP "Here Comes Trouble" on Tentacles Industries, they released their debut full-length album, "The Astral Maze", on November 4, 2026.

Out on Bandcamp and on CD.
This is great stuff !

-- info: Harald Haering

SOFT MACHINE BOX SET

"Slightly All The Time Recordings 1970-1974" is a new CD box set featuring English rock band Soft Machine.

This comprehensive anthology features 14 CDs and three blu-rays and covers the first half of the 1970s and the five albums (‘Third’, ‘Fourth’, ‘Fifth’, ‘Six’ and ‘Seven’) they recorded for CBS with each one newly remastered from the original quarter-inch tapes. In addition, it includes all of their existing BBC sessions (half of which are unreleased) and a generous selection of rare and previously unavailable concert recordings from Europe (UK/France/Switzerland).

It got released about two weeks ago.
More info soon.

ALBUM DROP DAY FOR THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND

ALBUM DROP DAY!

Thrilled to celebrate our new CD, "It's an Ed Palermo Christmas! God Bless Us, Everyone!" (Sky Cat Records 2026). Featuring the music of Jethro Tull, Tchaikovsky, ELP, Frank Zappa, Ed Palermo, and more! Artwork by the legendary Cal Schenkel (Zappa, Capt. Beefheart, Tom Waits). Makes a great stocking stuffer. 🙂
- Eddy the Elf

"...There are many delights in listening to The Ed Palermo Big Band – the expert musicianship, the lovely tunes, the energy, but also the joy of hearing unexpected snatches of other tunes which Palermo can’t resist slipping in. As he says: “Nothing is sacred and everything is sacred. It’s all done with love."
- London Jazz News

SUN RA BEFORE SUN RA

"The Magic City - Birmingham According To Sun Ra"
A documentary by Guillaume Maupin and Pablo Guarise.

Here's an interview with Guillaume Maupin and Pablo Guarise.

https://www.freejazzblog.org/2026/11/sun-ra-before-sun-ra-interview-with.html

-- info: Danny Mathys

BANDS THAT SOUNDED LIKE NO ONE ELSE

An interesting article on Classical-Music dot com:

These 15 bands honestly sounded like nothing else on the planet

From Captain Beefheart’s surreal blues to Can’s hypnotic krautrock, these 15 bands revelled in a soundworld like no other on Earth

https://www.classical-music.com/rock/bands-sounded-like-no-one-else

FRANK ZAPPA STORAGE BOXES

I recently bought some nice storage boxes for the Zappa CDs that came with the larger box sets.
Very happy with these (although they are a couple of mm too high to fit in my standard CD shelf).

Pieced together by a DIY enthusiast / entrepreneur in Milan.

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FRENCH INSTRUMENTAL PROG-METAL QUARTET KVÅRK RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM

Following their impressive "Here Comes Trouble" EP from 2020, French Instrumental Prog-Metal Quartet KVÅRK has just released their debut album "The Astral Maze".