Shopping for Chopin...

Since their launch shortly after the outset of the new millennium, few labels working within the territories of the vinyl reissue and archival release, have reached the heights charted by Vinyl on Demand. Their catalog is among the most dazzling that can be called to mind. Sadly, the imprint has decided to go on hiatus, but before they do, they’re leaving us with this incredible collections by Henri Chopin’s Recordings 13 LPs and a 7" in two box sets, all issued in a very limited edition of 300 copies only. To mark this Mind-crushing release, we're offering a special discount on several VOD rare and out-of-print releases (second part to follow)

Henri Chopin Recordings 1955-91 Vol. 1 (7Lp Box + 7" Ep) Since their launch shortly after the outset of the new millennium, few labels working within the territories of the vinyl reissue and archival release, have reached the heights charted by Vinyl On Demand. Beyond the incredible quality and care embedded within their efforts - redefining the idea of deluxe, they have elevated countless remarkable and overlooked creative gestures from the shadows of history, entirely recalibrating the legacies of music which exists outside of mainstream interest, placing the diverse actions of the underground in conversation with each other. Their catalog is among the most dazzling that can be called to mind. Sadly, the imprint has decided to go on hiatus, but before they do, they’re leaving us with this incredible collections by Henri Chopin’s Recordings 1955-1991 Volume 1, a seven LP set with a bonus 7inch, Recordings 1955-1991 Volume 2, a six LP set, all issued in a very limited edition of 300 copies only Henri Chopin needs little introduction. His name carves a path through 20th century avant-garde practice - one of the iconic and noted figures in sound and concrete poetry, sound-art, and experimental music, while also producing a remarkable body of effort as a poet, painter, graphic artist and designer, typographer, independent publisher, filmmaker, broadcaster and promoter. His life and work are a totem to the wonders of the post-war vanguard, offering an image of its diversity, intertwined discourses, optimism, and ambitions. Chopin, who passed away in 2008, spent more than a half a century pushing the potential of art - particularly within sound, and the very character of what it was understood to be. The body of work he left is dazzling and remarkably diverse, something which Vinyl on Demand’s two sets - speed across fourteen discs, with material spanning from 1955-1991, immediately lay bare.   Recordings 1955-91 Vol. 2 (6Lp Box) He was, said his friend William Burroughs, an "inner space explorer", but the Frenchman remained a solitary figure, outside any artistic grouping, almost the only exponent of his art, and almost certainly the only poet to record sounds and movements by swallowing a microphone. It is a career survey which he has always deserved, but, given how prolific he was, which few are ambitious enough to take on. VOD is among the few up to the task. These two sets are astounding, spanning four decades of remarkable effort and creation. Across their lengths, the wonders of 20th century creative practice - it’s towering challenges and incredible optimism, unfold. Volume 1 covers his entire catalog of official stand-alone releases, while Volume 2 covers all his other contributions to vinyl and tape productions as well as unreleased recordings. His emphasis on sound is a reminder that language stems as much from oral traditions as from classic literature, of the relationship of balance between order and chaos. As ambitious as anything could ever get, both boxes come with an illustrated 52-page booklet and texts in French and English by Vincent Barras, Marc Matter, Larry Wendt and Henri Chopin’s daughter, Brigitte Morton. For any fan of the 20th century avant-garde, particularly sound and concrete poetry, these are as essential as it get. Limited to 300 copies each, grab them before they are gone.