SENDELICA'S "AN INTRODUCTION TO SENDILICA" IS OUT ON BANDCAMP

Fruits de Mer Records recently released Sendelica's "An Introduction To Sendelica",
a fine 4cd set that included the band's version of Frank Zappa's ‘Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow’.

The 4 CD set is sold out but the entire set is now being made available on Bandcamp.

A PANZERBALLETT CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN

The message from Panzerballett : 

Dear qB fans,

Today is the day. Our crowdfunding campaign is live!

This September, we'll be hitting the road across Europe together with Virgil Donati. And we have one big dream:

We want to capture this tour forever.

Live shows are magical. They only exist in the moment, and once they're over, they're gone forever. That's why we want to preserve the energy, the spontaneity, the improvisation, and all those unforgettable moments on an official Panzerballett live album.

An album that lets you experience this special tour again and again.

But there's one catch:

This album will only exist if we make it happen together.

That's why we've launched our crowdfunding campaign on Startnext today.

This is about much more than funding a live album. It's your chance to become part of this project and get closer to Panzerballett than ever before.

During the campaign you'll find exclusive experiences and strictly limited rewards that will only be available through this crowdfunding campaign. Once it's over, they're gone for good.

Some of the highlights include:

• VIP Tickets & Meet & Greets
• Exclusive online sessions with Jan
• Limited edition merchandise
• The exclusive CD & Tour Shirt Bundle
• Official Song Announcer: announce one of our songs live on stage before we play it
• Producer's Commentary: a full length commentary in which Jan takes you through the entire live album, sharing the stories, arrangements, and behind the scenes details of every track
• ...and many more exclusive surprises.

None of these rewards will be available in our regular merch store later.

This is the first time we've ever invited our fans to become part of a Panzerballett project in such a direct and personal way.

If you'd love to hear this live album become reality, if you'd like this tour to live on long after the final encore, we'd be truly grateful for your support.

Let's make this live album happen together.

https://www.startnext.com/en/panzerballett-live-album

MALCOLM SCARPA BOX SET TO INCLUDE A FRANK ZAPPA PIECE

Next September, celebrating 30 years of music by Malcolm Scarpa, the Caballero Reynaldo Producciones Psicotropicas label will be releasing a 3 CD box set with outtakes, demos, live takes, and more.

The box will also include Malcolm Scarpa's version of 'Twenty Small Cigars' (F. Zappa), previously released on one of the (unrivalled) "Unmatched" albums.

AN ED PALERMO UPDATE

 

NEW RELEASE BY SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA

"Elliptical Orbits"
by Sun Ra & His Arkestra

Download / streaming album on Bandcamp.

KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD

A new King Gizzard album has been spotted !
As you know, KG&LW allows fans and independent labels to press and sell physical copies (vinyl, CD, cassettes) of the downloads that are offered by the band.
As long as they send a fair trade of copies back for the band to sell.

"Europe '25 Vol II" is such a release. It has been made available by the Reverberation Appreciation Society in July as a 3 LP set.

BEAT IS TOURING NORTH AMERICA THIS FALL

 

JONATHAN CROSSLEY, DAVID KOLLAR AND LUKAS LIGETI

From 7D Media

Santa Fe, NM — 7D Media is proud to announce Solace, a dynamic new set of wholly improvised works from Jonathan Crossley, David Kollar and Lukas Ligeti. Recorded in June 2024 during an artistic residency at the University of Liverpool, the project captures three singular musical minds in deep, real-time dialogue.

On this recording, the digitally enabled guitar practices of Crossley and Kollar intersect with the polymetric, Africa-inflected drumming of Ligeti, generating environments that move between ambient, pulsating and rhythmically intricate states. Crossley's playing fuses guitar, synthesis and real-time digital control into an expanded, gestural improvisational language, while Kollar treats the guitar as a vehicle for expansive, genre-defying expression, ranging from tonal abstraction to avant-garde interplay. Ligeti's drumming draws on experimental, jazz, contemporary and world traditions, weaving overlapping polyrhythms and cross-cultural influences into a percussive approach that is both grounded and exploratory.

SNARKY PUPPY'S "17" AVAILABLE ON BANDCAMP

• Snarky Puppy: 17
      (2019, 4lp, --, groundup)
      (2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp)

Snarky Puppy’s live compilation 17 has finally landed a digital home via Bandcamp, giving fans unprecedented, high-fidelity access to the jazz-fusion collective's peak 2017 touring era. 

Originally pressed exclusively as a ultra-limited, four-LP physical vinyl set back in 2019, this long-awaited digital re-release is a massive win for fans who missed the physical drop. And even for those who own the box set, it's great to have the album available in the digital format.

For readers of the United Mutations blog—who thrive on complex, boundary-pushing arrangements, mutant grooves, and exceptional musicianship—this sprawling collection is an absolute goldmine.

The album captures Michael League’s rotating mega-ensemble across various global tour stops in 2017, functioning as a definitive live retrospective of their mid-2010s creative peak.
Seventeen tracks from twenty-seventeen.
Re-energizing absolute fan favorites from 'We Like It Here', 'Culcha Vulcha', and  'Lingus' and transforming familiar arrangements into explosive, improvisational marathons, this is essential listening.

The sound is massive, punchy, and crystal clear. Every layer of the massive rhythm section, horn line, and multi-guitar attack is pristine.

For an album that was previously locked behind expensive out-of-print vinyl paywalls, having it fully dynamic, uncompressed, and ready to stream or download on the Snarky Puppy Bandcamp page is a gift. It is highly recommended for anyone who loves their jazz fried in funk, prog, and experimental world rhythms.

WENDY & LISA PLUS SHENKAR

I'm watching the final episodes of season one of "Heroes" on Netflix.

The sci-fi drama series Heroes features an iconic original score composed by the duo Wendy & Lisa (Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman) featuring the distinctive, ethereal vocals of virtuoso singer and violinist L. Shankar, credited as Shenkar.

from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Heroes

From the original soundtrack: 'Fire and Regeneration'

GOV'T MULE WILL CELEBRATE NEW YEAR'S EVE IN BOSTON

The Gov't Mule NYE Tradition Continues in Boston.

Warren Haynes & Gov't Mule add:
We're bringing our Mule Year's Eve tradition to Boston, MA for the very first time with a special Gov't Mule & Friends performance at MGM Music Hall at Fenway on December 31.

If you've ever spent New Year's with us, you know this isn't just another show. It's a one-night-only celebration filled with incredible music, unforgettable collaborations, and surprises you won't see anywhere else. This year, we are thrilled to welcome an incredible lineup of friends to help us celebrate, including Jaimoe, Marc Quiñones, Reese Wynans, Chuck Leavell, Steve Gorman, Audley Freed, and Kevn Kinney.

“Playing the Beacon Theatre in New York City for New Year’s Eve has been amazing for the past 20 years but now it’s time to try something new,” shares Haynes. “Boston has always been an amazing audience for us. We’re excited to open a new chapter. It’s gonna be fantastic to have a lot of our friends and special guests there with us blowing it out.”

Whether you've been ringing in the New Year with us since the early days or you're joining the tradition for the first time, we can't wait to celebrate with you in a brand-new city.

THE BEAT UPDATE FROM MWM

 

A MESSAGE FROM PANZERBALLETT

Something special is coming.

This September, Panzerballett feat. Virgil Donati will be touring Europe. Our goal is to capture this tour in an official live album.

To make it happen, we'll launch our Startnext crowdfunding campaign this Sunday at 12:00 PM (CEST).
You'll find exclusive rewards available only during the campaign, including:

🎸 CD & Tour Shirt Bundle
🤝 Meet & Greet + Concert Ticket
🎤 Official Song Announcer
…and much more.

📅 Launch: Sunday, 12:00 PM (CEST)
We can't wait to share this project with you! 🤘

 

TOM PENAGUIN - TOM PENAGUIN

• Tom Penaguin: Tom Penaguin
      (2024, download / streaming, --, bandcamp)

Tom Penaguin.
If the name doesn't ring a bell, you're missing out.
(I only learned about Tom Penaguin last week when I received a digital download of the album.)

This is spectacular.
Contemporary Canterbury scene instrumental progressive rock.

Composed, played, recorded and mixed by Tom Penaguin...

French multi-instrumentalist Tom Penaguin (known for his work with psych-rockers Djiin and avant space-rock outfit Orgöne) surprised everyone in 2024 with his spectacular self-titled debut solo album.

For this project, Penaguin locked himself away in his home studio, surrounded by a mountain of vintage analog hardware, and recorded every single instrument himself. The resulting thirty-seven minutes of music act as a direct portal back to the golden era of the 1970s Canterbury Scene.

The album kicks off with 'The Stove Viewpoint Introduction', a short, electronics-laden piece full of modulated oscillations that feels very much like an invitation into a strange new landscape.

This effortlessly crossfades into the album's centerpiece, the magnificent 14-minute epic 'Housefly Leg'. Here, Penaguin showcases a staggering grasp of jazz-fusion and progressive interplay, calling to mind Bundles-era Soft Machine, Egg, and Hatfield and the North, while retaining the complex rhythmic vocabulary of Frank Zappa's Waka/Jawaka period. The shifting odd meters, heavy organ pads, and fluid guitar work are brilliantly executed, yet always maintain a playful, melodic accessibility.

'Aborted Long Piece No2', is a tight, classically influenced exercise driven by a syncopated drum beat and a heavy bass line that cuts out right before it overstays its welcome.

It breaks for 'Arrival of the Great Hedgehog', where Penaguin layers beautiful, understated electric piano chords before absolutely tearing into a soaring, emotional guitar solo that nods toward Steve Hillage.

Finally, 'The Stove Packed Up and Left' closes the album with a wonderfully pastoral, acoustic-leaning atmosphere reminiscent of Caravan or Camel.

This is an exceptionally strong, vibrant debut from an artist who doesn't just copy the past, but breathes fresh, imaginative life into it.

Highly recommended for any fan of classic progressive rock, complex jazz-fusion, and vintage Canterbury sounds.

You can listen to and purchase the album directly via the áMARXE Bandcamp page.

RUINS - COSA ? (EXPERIMENTAL WORKS)

• Ruins: Cosa ? (Experimental Works)
      (2026, cd, Austria, klanggalerie)

Ruins.
Not the Japanese, Magma-inspired duo, but the Italian duo that has been producing experimental music since 1978.

Featuring Alessandro Pizzin (who you might also know as Alieno de Bootes and who released the exiting "Unconventional Residents" Tribute-To-The-Residents-series) and Piergiuseppe Ciranna.

They have just released a new album on the Klanggalerie record label: "Cosa ? (Experimental Works)

'REFLEKCTIONS II' BY EIDON, DEDICATED TO BILL BRUFORD

'RefleKtions II'
by Eidon

dedicated to Bill Bruford

 

BOOTES INVISIBLE RADIO SHOW - LA FRANCE

 a journey to the French music scene by Alieno De Bootes.

00:06 - 03:24 - Moving Gelatine Plates - Memories (1971)
03:24 - 09:28 - Veronique Chalot - La chanson de mai (1978)
09:28 - 13:38 - Noëtra - Mesopotamie (1982)
13:38 - 18:24 - Noir Desir - Le Vent Nous Portera (2001)
18:24 - 21:39 - Robin Fredrick - Been smoking too long (2003)
21:39 - 26:09 - Popera Cosmic - L.S.D (1969)
26:09 - 30:23 - Pierre Bensusan - Nice feeling (1981)
30:23 - 32:56 - Christian Vander Offering - Tïlïm M'Dohm (1986)
32:56 - 37:32 - Aut'Chose - Nancy Beaudoin (1975)
37:32 - 41:42 - Etron Fou Leloublan - Phare plafond (1984)
41:42 - 1:32:19 - Magma - K.A (live 2005)

https://www.mixcloud.com/AlienoDeBootes/bootes-invisible-radio-la-france-episode-01/

TUNGU & HENRY KAISER - THE UNEXPLAINED

• Tungu & Henry Kaiser: The Unexplained
      (2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp)
      (2026, cd, Austria, klanggalerie)

"The Unexplained" is Tungu's and Henry Kaiser's second collaboration.

Adventurous and experimental !!

FRANK ZAPPA - ZAPPATITE

Released in different versions, some of which have been slightly delayed.
But the Japanese (SHM)CD is out !

NEW RELEASE BY MEN & VOLTS

Selections from David Greenberger's archive !
13 different versions of 'Tramps In Bloom' by Men & Volts.
Live and rehearsal sessions.

NICO CHIENTAROLI & MICHAEL MOORE - THE CARD PLAYERS

• Nico Chientaroli & Michael Moore: The Card Players
      (2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp)

Recorded, on February 14th, 2026, at independent music club Splendor in Amsterdam, NL, "The Card Players" album features Nico Chientaroli on piano and Michael Moore on alto sax and clarinet.

Four chamber music-style improvisations.
Beautiful.

DECEMBER 20 - - - CRANK SOME FRANK

 December 2026, 'Musicon', The Hague, NL

"ZAPPA & CO", OCTOBER 30 AT DOMICIL IN DORTMUND, GERMANY

The Zappa Orchestra Hamm is giving a special concert with a number of guest performers at the Domicil. Alongside the magnificent music of the master Frank Zappa, the programme will also feature music by Prince, Stevie Wonder and others. The Zappa Orchestra Hamm comprises 30 professional musicians, all of whom are or have been associated with the Hamm Municipal Music School. The orchestra was founded in 2015 to mark the music school’s 75th anniversary by Bernd Kortenkamp, a great admirer of Frank Zappa’s music. After a few years’ hiatus, they have been performing regular concerts again since 2023. The large ensemble’s repertoire includes more than 30 Zappa songs. No Zappa fan should miss this special concert. Tickets are available for €20.80 from numerous ticket outlets.

"FREAK OUT !"

 

In 1966, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention released the album that started it all. Sixty years later, the Freak Out! 60th Anniversary Edition is officially unleashed and ready for pre-order.

The brand-new 60th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition presents 5 CDs of material, featuring the newly remastered 1966 stereo mix, a previously unreleased pre-master mix, the long-awaited mono master mix, The Mothers live at The Fillmore, 1966 rehearsals, demos, rarities, vocal reference mixes, session outtakes, and a cornucopia of bonus material. It’s the mother lode of mother lodes.

In addition to that glorious monstrosity, the Blu-ray contains ATMOS, 5.1, and high-res audio options. The set is rounded out with an expanded booklet with rare photos, new essays, a very special new section of even more “Relevant Quotes,” and an original double-sided fold-out Freak Out! Hot Spots Map.

Also available on a 5LP Box Set, as well as a multi-colored 2LP vinyl edition. Arrives everywhere on September 25th.

FREAK OUT! WITH JOE TRAVERS AND JOHN POLITO

Frank Zappa - Freak Out! 60th with Joe Travers and John Polito

THE PLASTER CASTER BLUES BAND - THE PLASTER CASTERS

 

• The Plaster Caster Blues Band: The Plaster Casters
      (1969, lp, USA, blues time)
      (2024, lp, Russia, --)

“The Plaster Casters” album by The Plaster Caster Blues Band did not include the actual Plaster Casters Of Chicago (Cynthia Albritton and her assistant(s)) but was a group of session musicians improvising on a number of blues themes.
The album included ‘You Didn’t Try To Ball Me (Dedicated To Frank Zappa)’, a track that also got released on the B-side of their only 7” single release.

The LP got re-released in 2024 on a Russian (?) label.

MADLIB - ROCK KONDUCTA PART 2

• Madlib: Rock Konducta Part 2
      (2014, lp, USA, madlib invazion)
      (2023, lp, USA, madlib invazion) – smoke vinyl

American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper Madlib, released a follow-up to his 2013 ”Rock Konducta Pt. 1” album in 2014.

"Rock Konducta - Part 2" included :

• 'Galactic Supermaket'   - sampled Lumpy Gravy pt.2 (FZ)
  and
• 'Stürmischer'   - sampled Apostrophe (‘) (FZ, Bruce, Gordon)

In 2023, "Rock Konducta - Part 2" got re-released on smoke vinyl.

MICHAEL MOORE UNIVERSE QUARTET - LISTEN !

• Michael Moore Universe Quartet: Listen !
      (2026, download / streaming, -, ramboy recordings)

Starting the day with the latest album by the Michael Moore Universe Quartet is always a pleasure. Reed master Michael Moore, a crucial component of the ICP Orchestra, has delivered another beautiful album, "Listen !".

Michael Moore's warm, melancholic alto saxophone tone, combined with Guillermo Celano's guitar lines are joy to listen to.

On the Bandcamp page, Michael adds:
The rather presumptious title, the 'Universe' quartet, has to do with it being an exploration of my universe. It's a repertoire band, these guys are ready and willing to play anything I give them, and I am grateful for that.
My intent is, rather than break new ground, to explore older forms and make enjoyable music.
The advantage of being DIY one's whole life is that you have total freedom from commercial pressures; I can follow my muse anywhere, and this is where it has taken me!

The result is a beautiful album.

Take the album title as a strong recommendation and "Listen !":

-- info: Danny Mathys

FREAK OUT 6 CD / BLU-RAY SET

Announced for September :

https://www.dustygroove.com/item/261610/Mothers-Of-Invention-Frank-Zappa-:Freak-Out-6CD-blu-ray-set?

TERRY BOZZIO TO JOIN BEAT ?

 According to the newsflash from the Phoenix venue:

- info: reddit

SUN RA AND HIS INTERGALACTIC SOLAR ARKESTRA - SPACE IS THE PLACE - MUSIC FROM THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

• Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra: Space Is The Place - Music From The Original Soundtrack
      (2023, 2cd+dvd+blu-ray)

Having the "Soundtrack To Space Is The Place" album that got released on the Evidence record label in 1993 as well as the "Space Is The Place" movie on DVD, the 2023 "Space Is The Place" box set was always pushed backwards on my priority list.

Our recent visit to Hamburg was going to solve this inconvenience. The "Space Is The Place" box set was moved from the bottom to the top of my priority list, together with some other recent Sun Ra albums.
Unfortunately, as things turned out, I wasn't able to find a copy. Out of the four Sun Ra releases on my list, I only found one. Too bad. 

I had no choice but to resort to trying to find and to placing an order online. That wasn't easy either. It seems like this box set is close to becoming sold out.

After a bit of a search, earlier this week, the "Space Is The Place - Music From The Original Soundtrack" box set finally arrived.
Two CDs in one digipack: “Space Is The Place” (modern harmonic mhcd-267), plus another digipack with the "Space Is The Place" DVD and blu-ray, and a booklet. All in one nice little box.

I've only listened to the CDs and the sound is great. I'm very happy with the second disc, presenting unreleased material that got recorded at the same sessions.

The box was also released with three LPs replacing the two CDs.
But this CD/DVD/blu-ray box set is great as well.

Recommended. Especially if you don't have the previously released soundtrack or the movie.

"It's after the end of the world. Don't you know that yet?"

THE ALMOST THREE - THREE

• The Almost Three: Three
      (2017, cd, Germany, pottpeople)

With "Vol. 5" released earlier this year, it looked like a fine opportunity to revisit "Three", released almost ten years ago on the POTTpeople record label.

Hailing from Mülheim an der Ruhr, the band—led by guitarist/vocalist Martin Ettrich alongside bassist Max Schmitz and drummer Benny Korn—showcases their love for blues, heavy funk, and avant-garde rock. For those who are into high-energy, genre-bending power trios, this album is a masterclass in heavy groove.

I love the songs. Especially the gritty vocals, the guitar tone, and the fine choice of cover versions (Joseph Bowie's 'Funk #2015', David Bowie's 'Let's Dance', The Allman Brothers' 'Whippin' Post',...) next to the excellent original material. 

DOMI & JD BECK - WHO ASKED ?

• DOMi & JD Beck: Who Asked?
      (2026, cd, --, blue note / apeshit)
      (2026, 2lp, --, blue note / apeshit)

The hyper-kinetic wunderkinds are back, and they are willfully testing the limits of what a "jazz duo" is supposed to sound like. Following their Grammy-nominated 2022 debut "NOT TiGHT," keyboardist Domi Louna and drummer JD Beck return with their sophomore effort, "Who Asked ?".
This time around, the duo has locked themselves in their Dallas home studio to emerge with an ambitious, highly structured, and downright dizzying slice of avant-garde chamber pop and maximalist jazz-prog.

Unlike the loose, improvisational grease of traditional fusion, "Who Asked ?" was completely meticulously mapped out on notation software before a single instrument was touched. The result is an album that feels entirely intentional—and completely unhinged. The duo handles vocals on nearly every track, creating an intricate web of "indietronica" sliced with Zappa-esque rhythmic sharp-turns and Carl Stalling-level cartoon logic.

Tracks like the fanfare opener 'Epiphanie' and 'Concertino (for Piano, Drums & Orchestra)' weave in a small sinfonietta of seasoned classical players, transforming their signature 1,000-notes-per-second velocity into full-blown orchestral madness. Meanwhile, tracks like 'Small Eyes' slow things down just a hair, blending a blue-mood jazz atmosphere with J Dilla-inspired drum deconstructions.

Beautiful, chaotic, and relentlessly demanding of your attention.

WIDESPREAD PANIC PERFORMED FRANK ZAPPA'S 'MUFFIN MAN' IN CONCERT

Widespread Panic has performed Frank Zappa's "Muffin Man" in concert twice in their history:

* September 19, 2010: The band debuted the song during their second set at the Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore, Maryland. This performance celebrated Baltimore's official "Frank Zappa Day" and the unveiling of a Zappa statue.

* July 25, 2026: Following a 743-show gap, they brought the song back during their first set at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California. This was played during their special five-piece tour run (as Jimmy Herring was absent from this entire West Coast tour as he continued his recovery following his tonsil cancer diagnosis and treatment earlier in the year).

Both concerts have been made available for download / streaming and even on CD from Nugs net.

The album cover for the "Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles, CA – 7/25/2026" album :

• Widespread Panic: Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles, CA – 7/25/2026
      (2026, download / streaming, USA, nugs net)
      (2026, 3cd, USA, nugs net) - incl. ‘Muffin Man’ (F. Zappa)
  
  

NEW PIECE BY EIDON

'景色 (Keshiki)'
by Eidon

NEW ALBUM BY THE ENSEMBLE MODERN

• Ensemble Modern, Peter Eötvös, Bob Rutman – Heiner Goebbels: Walden
     (2026, cd, --, ecm records)

 "Walden consists of a series of musical sketches inspired by the 1854 novel of the same name by Henry David Thoreau”, thus reads the short description of this project by Heiner Goebbels. But those familiar with the oeuvre of the German trans-media conceptualist and composer know that with Goebbels it’s never quite that simple. In his 1998 creation Walden, composed for expanded orchestra with speaker, Goebbels incorporates a wide-flung stream of inspirations and approaches, spanning excerpts from Thoreau’s “Walden”, soundscape-design in the spirit of audio plays, arsenals of outlandish instruments and sonic layouts as much at home in the avantgarde as they borrow from popular music, all brought to life with Peter Eötvös conducting and Bob Rutman a main figure in this project – in the role of the narrator.

-- info: Jan van Kemenade