Record Store Day 2023: The List
It's time for the big reveal! Here's our list of what we'll be releasing for Record Store Day 2023. There are seven unique titles this year that cover everything from experimental noise to 70's funk! Each of these will be available exclusively at independent record stores on April 22nd.
Europe 1966 is a box set consisting of live performances from free jazz visionary Albert Ayler. Each of the 4 LPs highlights some of the most magnificent moments on this European tour, showcasing Ayler and his bandmates at the height of their powers. The release includes performances from Berlin, Lörrach, Stockholm, and Paris, all of which occurred within a two week span. Ayler's masterful band on this tour included his brother, Donald, on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, William Folwell on double bass, and Beaver Harris on drums. These performances have been remastered for vinyl by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering. The package also includes a 12 x 24 fold-out insert, featuring liner notes from John Litweller and photos from the tour. Available for Record Store Day 2023, each LP is pressed on audiophile-grade black vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany.
In 1989, the Ukrainian band Vopli Vidopliassova, darlings of the Soviet punk scene, released a semi-official cassette tape called Tantsi (“Dances”). The album contained songs in both Ukrainian and Russian and was recorded in one night, at an adrenaline-fueled DIY session in Kyiv. It was intended by the band members to be nothing more than a demo tape. But soon fans started dubbing the cassette, and for connoisseurs of Soviet punk, the recording quickly gained cult status for its nervy and often hilarious songs poking fun at life in the last years of the USSR. In 2019, the original session tape was re-discovered, and in 2023, Tantsi finally gets its first official release. Featuring the original album fully re-mastered plus some rare bonus tracks, Tantsi is a time capsule from late Soviet Kyiv, where Ukrainian punks were rebelling against the repressive rule from the Kremlin, and imagining new horizons of possibility. Tantsi will be released on vinyl for the first time for Record Store Day 2023, limited to 2,000 copies worldwide, pressed on transparent orange vinyl. The album features a foldout insert with liner notes by Maria Sonevytsky, who has also authored a book about the album for 33 1/3 Europe. The book will be published in June 2023, with an e-book edition out early on April 20th to coincide with the RSD release.
Shamballa is the 1993 collaboration from jazz drummer William Hooker, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), and composer Elliott Sharp. The release features Hooker performing duets with each musician. Hooker and Moore’s performance is littered with bursts of feedback and distortion, while the collaboration with Sharp is characterized by a more electronic sound, building a sense of technology. The pieces will be released on vinyl for the first time as a double LP for Record Store Day 2023, limited to 1,500 copies.
Funky Chicken is the 1970 album from Willie Henderson and the Soul Explosions. As evident by the name, it is infinitely danceable from the moment you press play. The band’s potent blend of soul and bayou funk makes for a very exuberant sounding record, where the grooves are endless. The record was initially released on the legendary Brunswick Records, famous for signing such artists as Jackie Wilson and The Chi-Lites. For the first time in more than a decade, Org Music is bringing the title back to vinyl in the US, mastered from original tapes and pressed on orange transparent color vinyl, exclusively for Record Store Day 2023.The long overdue reissue features two bonus tracks, “Break Your Back” and “Loose Booty”, the latter of which was famously sampled by Beastie Boys in their 1992 track "Professor Booty."
A one man band born in the mid 70’s in Detroit, MI, The Happy Dragon Band is the brain child of Thomas Court. A studio wiz, synth pioneer and electronic music professor. After releasing one private press LP he went on to other pursuits and the obligatory obscurity followed. This is truly a one of a kind mashup of early analog synths, Floydian psych ballads, and even some proto new wave and reggae. The record will be getting its first ever reissue and proper release for Record Store Day 2023. The yellow color vinyl pressing is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Like the original pressing, this reissue comes housed in an old school case-wrapped jacket. It features two previously unreleased bonus tracks and an insert with liner notes by music critic Dave Segal.
Larry Mullins + Mike Watt's TV Eye 7” features their unique take on the classic tune, divided into two parts. It is available exclusively for RSD 2023, and is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Half of the pressing comes on half and half color vinyl, with the other half on standard black vinyl. The two editions will be randomly mixed and shipped, so you’re in for a surprise.
This limited edition compilation LP was curated from the classic Sun Record Company catalog by participating Record Store Day stores, and marks the tenth installment of the 'Sun Records Curated by Record Store Day' series. Volume 10 celebrates the themes of love, devotion, and anniversaries. The track list for this compilation was carefully curated by the hardworking people in record stores themselves. This Record Store Day 2023 exclusive release is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide, pressed on silver color vinyl.