Monday, August 10, 2026 • Vinyl Finds from Around the World
Illusions
City-pop unit Ryusenkei, led by Kunimondo Takiguchi, enlists vocalist Sincere to keep refining their polished, summery urban sound. Illusions continues their devotion to 70s and 80s city pop and AOR with detailed arrangements and breezy melodies — the perfect metropolitan pop record for the lingering heat.
Playing the Piano 12122020
A recording of Ryuichi Sakamoto's audience-less solo piano performance during the pandemic, reissued here on white double vinyl. In the empty hall the notes ring clear and solitary — one of the most moving solo documents of his late period.
Opus
The complete document of Ryuichi Sakamoto's final piano concert, presented across 4LP. Alone at the piano near the end of his life, he plays through the signature works of a lifetime — a quiet, dignified farewell.
Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool)
One of the most striking records in Sonny Criss's catalogue — lyrical yet bursting with ideas, gathering six compositions by Horace Tapscott. The writing is expansive, and Criss's alto shines luminously within the orchestral setting.
Works of Hikaru Hayashi (林光の世界)
A 1978 Toho-produced overview of composer Hikaru Hayashi's film music for directors including Shindo, Oshima, Onchi, Masumura and Yoshida, complete with interviews and a works list — an ideal entry point into his cinematic output.
Works of Toru Takemitsu (武満徹の世界)
A 1978 Toho-produced selection of Toru Takemitsu's film music for directors including Teshigahara, Kobayashi, Ichikawa, Shinoda, Oshima and Hani, with interviews and a works list — a distillation of the master's world of screen sound.
Wanci
Bandung duo Tarawangsawelas bring the West Javanese Sundanese ritual music tarawangsa into the present, released by Morphine Records. Distinct from gamelan, their minimal, folk-rooted sound weaves two bowed strings into a hypnotic, ceremonial drift.
Vol.2
Cortex, the French-Brazilian and free-soul favourites led by keyboardist Alain Mion, deliver their 1977 second album. The celebrated 'Poxa' reworks a Gilson de Souza tune into French-tinged jazz-funk — best enjoyed alongside the Brazilian original.
Rufus
A 1966 album from Danish saxophonist John Tchicai and Archie Shepp, rounded out into a quartet by J.C. Moses and Don Moore. You can hear loft jazz pulling away from hard bop, with Shepp not yet at his most chaotic free-jazz — a rare, distinctive profile and a rewarding entry in the Fontana New Jazz Series.
Stranger Things: Season 5 (Soundtrack)
The soundtrack to Stranger Things season 5, offered as black and colour vinyl in THT's inventory clear-out. It continues the show's signature retro synth textures and 80s hit selections — a must for fans of the series.
Tango N'Vectif
µ-Ziq's debut finally returns — a 90s electronic landmark fully remastered from the original DAT tapes, with cover photography by Richard James (Aphex Twin's real name). It fuses early Aphex weirdness, Detroit techno's machinery and British hardcore's wildness — one of the most distinctive electronic classics of the decade, reissued on 2026 double vinyl.
Fantômes...Futurs
Double bassist Kham Meslien — who has played with Robert Plant, Archie Shepp and Robert Wyatt — delivered his first solo album in 2022. This bass-centred solo project uses simple percussion and loop pedals to weave dry, sun-soaked landscapes (Moroccan, Slavic, Mediterranean). Warm and full, coloured with feeling beyond jazz's edges — raw and beguiling.
Roman quartet I Marc 4 were key session players behind late-60s and 70s Italian film and TV scores, drawn from Rome's jazz circle and the RAI orchestra, with credits alongside Morricone, Piccioni and Trovajoli. Their rarest works are 1976's S.M. 2001 and S.M. 2002, ranging across rare groove, jazz-funk and bossa. Sonor Music Editions distills the best of both onto a single LP, reviving the original military-stencil design in a silver sleeve.