Various Artists & Miraj - 4LP Bundle

*** This bundle contains "Various Artists - Romanian Sounds Unearthed #7" (3LP) vinyl and "Miraj - Miraj (Mirage)" (1LP) vinyl ***

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• Also contains LO-FI private lost recordings

''For those of you who are familiar with our Romanian Sounds Unearthed series, you know the focus of our previously released records (Experimental Q and Q2, Modal Q, Ethos) has been the underground music scene of the 70s, with an emphasis on prog-rock and jazz-rock material that had been lost to time and rediscovered through the efforts of a handful of passionate individuals.

Unlike previous releases, the purpose of this multiple-artists 3 LP release has been conceived as more of an overview of that particular era (mid 70s to early 80s), with a number of various bands and artists that should offer an accurate insight into the underground music scene of those times. This triple-vinyl album represents the result of a two decades long, painstaking search for lost audio tracks, their restoration done with the same high-end techniques that have become the hallmark of Romanian Sounds Unearthed. The vinyl records will be cut using DMM (Direct Metal Mastering) and will be pressed at a weight of 180g per piece, with the included artwork by Mihai Marcu (Mistik) and graphics by TheOtaku.Studio.

This collective album is a long yet eventful journey, delving into genres ranging from Prog-Rock to Jazz-Funk, Theme music, Soundtrack and Lo-Fi recording, always delivering something new and surprising to the listener. Unlike previous releases which focus on specific bands, this album acts as a smorgasbord of various underground “delicacies” with multiple bands and a handful of live recordings, a mixture of genres and influences, a collection the likes of which has never been released before. It is a melange of genres, a great sampling of various bands: the groups Quadrant, Transfer, Experimental Grup '74, Curtea Veche 43, Mircea Florian în Labirint, Post Scriptum, Sfinx & Harry Coradini, Sonic, Nimbus, Eugen Gondi Trio and Ora Locală.

Chronologically speaking, the earliest track is “Dans marțian = Martian Dance” by Experimental Quartet (1973) with the last tracks being “Formula 1”, a Live recording and ''Fereastra spre mare = Window Towards The Sea'' both from 1982 by Ora Locală band. The tracklist of these three records is not, however, chronologically ordered, moving at random from the mid 70s to the early 80s and back, covering almost every year and while there is a certain logic behind the order, the record’s theme is more band-and-genre oriented.

The album itself cannot be labeled under a single genre: going from prog-rock to latin jazz, through experimental and space rock, trying to file it under a single category would be not only pointless but detrimental. There is always something new and unexpected coming next, always something that takes the listener by surprise, always a new expression of the talent and musical craftsmanship, both in terms of instrumentation and composition.

At any rate, what you can expect from this album is a journey where time and space abandon all coherence and music is the only thing that matters. Think of it as a late William Burroughs novel, using the cut-up technique for paragraphs, allowing the listener to envision a personal view of the whole, an experiment whose results may vary from one person to another, a journey with multiple paths leading to a single destination. After all, isn’t personal interpretation the very beauty of prog-rock and other similar genres?

This triple-LP album represents a culmination of years of research and technical efforts, restoring and remastering lo-fi tracks to the best possible quality and gathering them into a collection the likes of which has never been released before: an insight into the Romanian underground music scene of those decades, the work of artists who faced innumerable challenges, both financial and political, all in the name of the passion they all shared – music.''

(promotional text by Mihai Alexandrescu)

Side 1 = 1st Dimensional Linear Space With Basis E12
Side 2 = 2nd Dimensional Linear Space With Basis E13
Side 3 = 3rd Dimensional Linear Space With Basis E14
Side 4 = 4th Dimensional Linear Space With Basis E23
Side 5 = 5th Dimensional Linear Space With Basis E24
Side 6 = 6th Dimensional Linear Space With Basis E34

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Romanian Sounds Unearthed – 7
発掘されたルーマニアの音 - 7
180gr. DMM (Direct Metal Mastering)
Made in France
MSRP €39

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"As part of the Romanian Sounds Unearthed, a series meant to bring back restored masterpieces of the Romanian underground music scene of the 70s, we are proud to present to you today the self-titled first album of the Miraj group, an exquisite slice of mid-70s hard-rock example, a beautiful blend of pure hard-edged prog&blues rock, brilliantly played, never released and criminally neglected for the past fifty years. This concentrated dose of guitar-driven and looping blues-influenced prog-hardrock is available for the first time in history, with full input from the band by Vasile Foica, Alexandru Szabó and Viorel Repciuc.

MIRAJ (also known as Mirage/The Mirage) formed in 1973 in Oradea, Romania – consisted of its founders: brilliant vocalist and main composer Alexandru ''Sonny'' Szabó, guitarist virtuoso Viorel ''Vivi'' Repciuc, flutist Vasile Foica (also from the great pop prog-rock group Ethos), alongside (those now deceased) bass guitarist Gheorghe Ivan, drummer Cornel Ungur and keyboardist and composer Șerban Lupu.

As part of a very specific niche of the underground music scene, Miraj was the work of young musicians, many of whom were either newly-graduates or still students. However, in this particular context, youth does not equal lack of talent or experience: all of Miraj’s members had years of activity behind them, both in terms of performing and composing and although they started out as cover musicians, this album is made entirely of original compositions, though one of the songs uses lyrics by Dan Mutașcu and two others use the work of debutante poetess Gabriela Hurezean.

The album opens with the iconic ''Atunci când visez = When I Dream'', starting a musical journey leading to the melancholic prog motif of ''Drumul = The Path'', via the unhurried grace and bold beauty of ''Inimoasă cale (Taina cocorilor) = Hearty Way (The Cranes’ Mystery)'', the memorable and blues-fueled monster ''Zi cu soare = Sunny Day'' and the album's most recognizable yet peerless track ''Dialog = Dialogue''.

In those days, due to the social and political context, it was not unusual for music groups to change their lineup, with musicians coming and going, some of them forced to relocate to other cities, others conscripted by the mandatory military service. This record’s tracklist covers the entirety of Miraj’s existence from early 1973 to 1980 (chronologically the last track to be recorded is 1979’s “Rock and Roll”).

Much like the previous albums released under this series, the self-titled Miraj represents the assiduous work of more than two decades: searching through forgotten record archives and restoring/remastering the material to the highest possible quality. A record truly deserving of the accuracy DTC treatment, the vinyl will be specially cut on DMM (Direct Metal Mastering), and pressed on Audiophile at a reassuringly weighty 180gr. vinyl, in order to preserve as much as possible of what was obtained after the long and arduous restorations of the sound, offering at least a decent level audition, as is tradition for all the albums in this series. We aim to please audiophiles, even though given the fact that in Romania back in those days the recording studios operated with semi-professional material, many of the archives no longer exist or have not yet been discovered. So, let's enjoy the historical character of these sound proofs and the very existence of these long-forgotten and rediscovered bands.

The album features original artwork across the gatefold sleeve and record labels by Barna Fazakas.

From start to finish, the album is a dive into the atmosphere of those years: the rediscovered works of young yet experienced musicians whose mastery of both instruments and composition is revealed by the seamless musical flow, a riveting, bluesy prog-rock tour de force which we are sure will be a delight for both newcomers and veterans of our Romanian Sounds Unearthed Series."

(promotional text by Mihai Alexandrescu)

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Romanian Sounds Unearthed – 8
180gr. DMM (Direct Metal Mastering)
Made in France
MSRP €21