The Sampler: The best reissues of 2022

Tony Stamp highlights ten of his favourite reissues and compilations of 2022.

P​.​O​.​X. SOUND by Paolo Ormi E La Sua Orchestra

Bandcamp.com has become an invaluable resource for the adventurous music consumer looking to easily access tracks on a less well-trod path. One of their end of year wrap-ups led me to the album by Paolo Ormi, an arranger and orchestra director for Italian television in the 1970s. He also dabbled in Latin Funk, and these ten tracks recorded in 1972, replete with brass, percussion and female vocals, show his flair for composition.

P.O.X. Sound was made available commercially for the first time in 2022, by the Italian label Sonor Music Editions. They specialise in soundtracks and library music from the 70s and 80s, and were able to source and remaster this album, which was originally distributed to Italian TV, but is now available to stream or purchase on vinyl.

Tall Dwarfs - Unravelled: 1981-2002

American label Merge delved back through two decades of Tall Dwarfs - the duo of kiwi legends Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate - and collated this whopping 55 track compilation. Bathgate curated, setting a balance between lo-fi pop songs, and the more experimental numbers that found the pair really seeing what they could do with their collection of instruments, a 4-track tape machine, and various percussive household items. 

‘Entropy’ from 1994s 3EPs has always been a favourite of mine thanks to its loopy bassline and Knox’s prolonged howl, while ‘Sign the Dotted Line’ from 1990’s Weeville has typically wry lyrics and some Beatles-y strumming and vocal harmony. Hearing how seemingly easy it was for Tall Dwarfs to generate these hummable gems alongside the more exploratory numbers impressed me all over again. Unravelled is intimidatingly long, but necessarily so.

The DoubleHappys - Nerves

In 1983 former Bored Games vocalist Shayne Carter formed The DoubleHappys with The Stones’ Wayne Elsey and drummer John Collie. They recorded a seven inch and EP, and toured the country, before Elsey was tragically killed in 1985. The remaining two members stopped using the name out of respect, and went on to form Straightjacket Fits.

In 1992 the compilation Nerves was released, collecting the band's studio work, some live cuts and practice room recordings, and to mark 30 years since its release, Flying Nun remastered the album for a vinyl release.

A lot of care has been taken with this reissue, which was remastered from master tapes sourced from the Alexander Turnbull library. For fans of Carter it’s a chance to hear his bratty delivery in its nascent state, as well as his and Elsey’s fervent guitar playing. The latter sings lead on ‘Anyone Else Would’, a stately cut that shows the songwriting prowess these guys were packing.

Grouper - Ruins

American musician Liz Harris built a name for herself in the late 2000s with minimal compositions that paired her voice with acoustic guitar. What set her apart was the confessional intimacy of her songs, and the way she used sound design, reverb and recording techniques to create a sense of space - they feel like you’re listening to her from another room, or perhaps in a dream.

In 2011 she was offered a residency at an artist space in Portugal, and recorded, with just a piano, microphone and 4-track, most of the album Ruins, which was released in 2014. Her music was always intimate, but this did away with any sense of separation - this time you were in the room with her. 

Ruins was reissued by the label Kranky in 2022, and in its liner notes Harris writes about her daily routine while recording, hiking to the beach through the ruins of old estates. Her walks became the basis for the record - she says she hopes “the album bears some resemblance to the place that [she] was in”. Knowing that made me enjoy these fragile constructions even more.

The Lemonheads - It’s A Shame About Ray

In 1992 I bought It’s a Shame About Ray, an album by American band The Lemonheads, on cassette. Seeing it reissued for its 30th anniversary was one of those increasingly frequent reminders of how quickly time passes.

It was packaged with a slew of radio sessions and b-sides, but re-listening to the album I had the pleasant experience of realising it was better than I gave it credit for at the time. The lead single was the band’s cover of 'Mrs Robinson', which their label insisted they include, but Evan Dando’s songs have absolutely stood the test of time.

He's open about his drug use at the time - he told The Guardian recently that around this time he once went without sleep for ten days - and that context has coloured these tracks somewhat. The song ‘Drug Buddy’ is, in hindsight, quite heartbreaking, a story about the search for a daily fix rendered with tenderness and some great melodies.

Summer of Soul (soundtrack)

When  Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson’s film Summer of Soul won Best Documentary at the 2022 Oscars, it was overshadowed somewhat by a certain slap that had just occurred onstage. Which is a shame, because the film is incredible, made up of footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which happened over the course of six Sundays, and featured a jaw-dropping lineup including Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, nina Simone and many more. 

As you might expect, the accompanying soundtrack is equally crucial.

These recordings, which have been commercially unavailable for 50 years, were culled down to seventeen tracks for this release, curated by Questlove himself (best known as band leader for the Roots). It’s not just a collection of great music, but an important one - the question has been asked repeatedly why Woodstock, which took place on one of the same days, went down in history, while this festival was largely forgotten.

Tia Blake and her Folk-Group - Folksongs & Ballads

Tia Blake was an American folk singer, who, while living in Paris in 1971, recorded an album of British and Appalachian folk songs, accompanied by two local guitarists. The result is one of those albums perfect for reissue, its legacy swelling with each passing year. 

Blake recorded demos of original songs in 1973 and ‘76, which didn’t see the light of day till 2018, but Folksongs and Ballads will endure, capturing the serenity of both her voice and these compositions. She was nineteen at the time of recording, and some fifty years later, the album is available to buy on vinyl.

Habibi Funk 018: The SLAM! Years (1983 - 1988)

Based in Berlin, Habibi Funk is a record label who since 2017 have been reissuing what they call ‘eclectic sounds from the Arab world’. Up until recently they’ve been focused on recording from the 60s through 80s, from tapes found in Moroccan markets to more established artists, remastered on vinyl and their Bandcamp page.

Volume 18 of Habibi Funk focused on Hamid Al-Shaeri, an  Egyptian-Libyan music legend who in the 1980s was embracing the use of synthesisers in Arab music. He was signed to SLAM! Records, who were focussed on cassette releases: Al-Shaeri’s first five albums were sourced and remastered from that format for Habibi Funk 018: The SLAM! Years.

This compilation, like much of the label’s output, feels revelatory if you’re unfamiliar with the material. Al-Shaeri embraced improvisation within disco and synth-pop, and you can hear it in how restless the electric guitar, oud, flute and various synths are throughout these tracks.

The accompanying notes detail the label meeting the artist himself and tracking down his old label boss to acquire the rights to the songs, and excellent music aside, the stories that come with every Habibi Funk release make them well worth tracking down.

The Body Electric - Presentation and Reality + The Body Electric 12"

In the early 80s, Wellington trio the Steroids called it a day, and two of its members formed The Body Electric, who pioneered the use of music technology in NZ. Band member Alan Jansson, who would go on to become a renowned record producer, was effusive about the potential of new tools like the 808 drum machine and Korg MS-20 synthesiser. 

Their single ‘Pulsing’ would become one of the longest charting NZ singles of the 80s, and the following LP Presentation and Reality showed the band had quickly become a cohesive unit.

Flying Nun and Propellor Records co-released Presentation and Reality as well as the band’s debut 12” in 2022, remastered by Jansson and vocalist Garry Smith. The album in particular has aged extremely well, propulsive basslines and Smith’s theatrical delivery supplementing a bevy of synthesised sounds. 

Galcher Lustwerk - 100% Galcher

The reissue I saw the most excitement about in 2022 was this one, properly mastered and released on vinyl for the first time. It was originally released in 2013, when the record label White Material asked Galcher Lustwerk to contribute to their DJ mix series. He delivered a collection of his own songs, and became, in certain circles, an overnight star.

100% Galcher was made in his bedroom with a minimal gear list, and was beguiling thanks to in-the-pocket production and vocal interjections from the musician. He hadn’t expected success, but recently noted that the nine years since have seen plenty of imitators. He’s not wrong, and this reissue is a well-earned victory lap.