Thursday, July 16, 2026 • Vinyl Finds from Around the World
Mother Earth's Plantasia (50th Anniversary Edition)
Before Brian Eno formalized Ambient, Mort Garson used the Moog to craft this gentle electronic album made “to be played for plants.” Once available only at an LA plant shop or with a mattress purchase, it became a cult synth classic. The 50th-anniversary edition presses on 100% recycled green vinyl with a plantable seed-paper download card.
Unknown Happiness (Live Ver.)
Maher Shalal Hash Baz, the Japanese experimental project founded by Tori Kudo in 1984, drifts freely between folk, jazz, classical and improvisation. This 7-inch presses the live recording of signature piece “Unknown Happiness” for the first time, with two differently-arranged versions across its sides — one a beautifully-incomplete ensemble take, the other a quieter piano outline.
Once Upon A Katamari Original Soundtrack - Katamari Once Again Damacy
The soundtrack to the newest Katamari game, hand-curated by longtime series sound designer Yu Miyake across 24 tracks. A lavish vocal cast includes chelmico, Daoko, Kenji Niinuma, Shigeru Matsuzaki, Etsuko Yakushimaru and “Katamari feat. suis (Yorushika).” Pressed as a gatefold 2LP with cover art by Kazuki Takakura, keeping the series' bright, oddball aesthetic.
Coming Up (30th Anniversary Half Speed Master)
One of Britpop's most emphatic comebacks. After guitarist Bernard Butler's 1996 departure, newcomers Richard Oakes and Neil Codling helped Suede deliver a creative and commercial peak that topped the UK chart for nearly a year. This 30th-anniversary edition is half-speed mastered from the original tapes, with original designer Howard Wakefield restoring the classic sleeve.
Pearl
An album recorded in a Texas bedroom that unexpectedly racked up 85 million views in Brazil. Now a Latin-Grammy-nominated Brazilian star, Rubel's debut blends MPB, folk, pop and indie rock — some tracks like an acoustic Thom Yorke, others recalling Caetano Veloso's tenderness. UK label Mr Bongo issues its first-ever official global release.
Synonym
Grammy stalwart Meshell Ndegeocello's third Blue Note album gathers a staggering cast — Cynthia Erivo, Cat Power, Robert Glasper, Chaka Khan, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Brandi Carlile, ANOHNI and more. Every song is a duet between two same-gender vocalists, spanning jazz, soul and indie while exploring love, desire, heartbreak and friendship.
Katamari Damacy Original Soundtrack - Katamari Fortississimo Damacy
The first-ever vinyl of the original Katamari Damacy soundtrack from the beloved PlayStation classic. Ranging across pop, jazz and electronica, it collects series staples like “Katamari on the Rocks” and “Na-Na-Nan Katamari,” plus a rare trial-version bonus track. A gatefold 2LP with brand-new cover art by series creator and original art director Keita Takahashi.
LOOM
Tarik Badwan — younger brother of The Horrors' Faris Badwan — fronts London rock band LOOM. This 2017 self-titled album carries a grunge-tinged post-punk sound, a natural pickup for anyone drawn to The Horrors' brooding mood, and a different voice from the same bloodline. Ten tracks on red-and-black splatter vinyl.
Gilles Peterson Presents Norma Winstone: Live at Maida Vale
Marking BBE Music's 30th anniversary, this Gilles Peterson project handpicks a performance from his BBC Sessions series, spotlighting British jazz-vocal legend Norma Winstone across a singing career spanning 50-plus years. Recorded at the storied Maida Vale Studios, it's a precious live meeting of veteran and new generations, with liner notes by critic Emma Warren.
Lineage II: 22 Years Original Soundtrack
One of the most revered symphonic fantasy game scores, Lineage II arrives on gold vinyl with 40 selected tracks by Bill Brown, Jamie Christopherson, Inon Zur and NC Sound. From serene village themes to dramatic battle and large-scale conflict movements, the arrangements fuse orchestra, chorus, medieval-fantasy style and electronics — the melodies old players remember are likely all here.
A Safe Place To Be Wild
Jordan Rakei's seventh album is candid, intimate and direct, laying bare emotion and vulnerability without reserve. It leaves deliberate space to build a quiet inner world, drawing listeners close with an unadorned voice and sketching the meeting point of modern soul and contemporary jazz — ultimately still the Rakei we know best.
The Boy and the Heron Soundtrack
The soundtrack to Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron, composed by Joe Hisaishi with Kenshi Yonezu performing the theme “Spinning Globe.” Thirty-seven tracks across a 2LP with tri-fold sleeve and OBI, including the “Ask me why” and “Grey Heron” pieces — another moving Hisaishi–Ghibli collaboration. Restocking in September.
Picture of Heath
Chet Baker and Art Pepper's third collaboration, teaming with top West Coast players Phil Urso, Carl Perkins, Curtis Counce and Larance Marable in the sextet Picture of Heath, recorded October 31, 1956. Remastered from the original mono analog tapes, issued to high standards by Pure Pleasure.
A 10th-anniversary edition of Bloodborne, pairing the originally-2019 2LP with a brand-new second volume of nine remastered tracks — three records housed in a gold-foiled clamshell box with obi. The score is written by Ryan Amon, Yuka Kitamura, Tsukasa Saitoh, Nobuyoshi Suzuki, Cris Velasco and Michael Wandmacher, with a bonus Caryll Runes slipmat. A standalone Vol. II LP is available too.