Other Minds Records,
a project of Other Minds in San Francisco, produces a select catalog of contemporary music exploring areas seldom touched upon by mainstream institutions.

You may use our secure webstore to purchase our CDs. Click on any of the
disc images below, then make your selections.

Retailers: Other Minds Records are distributed throughout the world by Naxos & Naxos Global.

This CD marks the first time that Igor Stravinsky's own pianola version of his famous composition Les Noces has been released commercially. In addition, a number of Rex Lawson’s ingenious arrangements of well-known classics, including Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, are included. Please turn up the volume and enjoy this first CD release by Other Minds.
                                                            —Charles Amirkhanian

“It’s all enormous fun... It’s certain that there will be nothing like this in your collection.”
                                                           —Allan Ulrich, San Francisco Examiner June 18, 1999

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The musical works on this disc fall into two categories: player-piano versions of works originally written for some other medium, and works that have never been recorded before. The latter fall into yet two more categories: abandoned works from early in Nancarrow's career, and the final pieces from the last years of his life. Following these works, There is a tape of excerpts from the 1977 interview with the composer, conducted by Charles Amirkhanian.
                                                            —Kyle Gann

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Western Europe, the birthplace of what we call "classical music," woke up to the fact that the U.S. could make an impact in the field, not through George Gershwin or Aaron Copland, but through the name of George Antheil—the first truly modern U.S.-born composer to have any significant impact internationally. One hundred years after his birth, Antheil's music and career are beginning again to attract international attention. His provocative music was a reflection of an adventure-filled life, and it rewards serious attention.
                                                            —Charles Amirkhanian

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Other Minds has gathered historical recordings from performances around the world to create this richly sonorous compilation of heartfelt, affecting performances. Conductor and Pound music scholar Robert Hughes conducts The Other Minds Ensemble and others and was the guiding light in selecting the repertoire and recordings. Reinbert de Leeuw leads a performance with tenor Harry van der Kamp from the 1980 Holland Festival; other recordings from England and Italy round out this brilliant collection. An 80-page booklet with an essay by Pound music expert Margaret Fisher and previously unpublished photographs make this deluxe package a must for those interested in 20th century music, and in operatic and literary history.
                                                             —Charles Amirkhanian

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At the time of its release in early 1975, unpitched speech was not taken for granted as musical material by composers, nor was there a widespread movement of sound poetry in the U.S. This now-legendary anthology, therefore, was a novelty and for some an inspiring revelation. Long prized by collectors (it has been out-of-print since 1984), this album of sound art made of spoken words inspired a burst of related activity during the decade of its circulation. A younger generation of American composers and poets began to adopt speech music, pre-dating rap, poetry slams, or even the storied emergence of performance artist Laurie Anderson.
                                                             —Charles Amirkhanian

Featuring works by Charles Amirkhanian, Beth Anderson, Robert Ashley, John Cage, Clark Coolidge, Charles Dodge, John Giorno, Anthony Gnazzo, Brion Gysin, Liam O'Gallagher, and Aram Saroyan.

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Other Minds Records proudly announces the release of “Residue”—talented vocalist-composer-songwriter Amy X Neuburg’s second solo album. A cross-over artist defying definition, Amy twists multiple musical styles together into something all her own—from cabaret and hard rock to classical. It’s not just her classically-trained vocal lyricism that’s appealing, it’s the astounding range of expression achieved when she adds live electronics and percussion, compositional prowess and clever lyrics to the mix.                                                                                        

“More compositional than Laurie Anderson and a hell of a lot cheerier than
Diamanda Galas, Neuburg has scoped out her own territory in the gulf between
pop and classical.”
                                                            —Kyle Gann, The Village Voice

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If there is a musical counterpart to the writers of the lost Generation, it is surely George Antheil. The early musical career of this Trenton, New Jersey-born composer (1900-1959), captures the spirit of a whole generation of young American artists — deracinés who went abroad to complete their education, refine their tastes, live cheaply, and enjoy the far freer artistic and sexual milieu. For Antheil, this period (1922-1933) was marked by his friendship with famous literary and artistic figures — the left Bank expatriates Joyce, Hemingway, Pound, and William Carlos Williams, and the Right Bank intellectuals Cocteau, Satie, Breton, Aragon. Their fascination with this brilliant, irresistible, and tireless young American composer was primarily inspired by his peculiar music: a personal fusion of American jazz and Stravinsky's primitivism mixed with mechanical and percussive patterns...

Del Sol String Quartet: Kate Stenberg, 1st violin; Rick Shinozaki, 2nd violin;
Charlton Lee, viola; Monica Scott, cello

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This collection was originally released on Columbia Records in January 1964. It's arguably the finest recital of American art songs ever released, filled with inspiring poetry and electrifying performances by some of the top soloists of the day, accompanied by the composer.

Sung by:
Charles Bressler (tenor)
Phyllis Curtin (soprano)
Gianna d’Angelo (soprano)
Donald Gramm (bass)
Regina Sarfaty (mezzo-soprano)
Accompanied at the piano by the composer

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John Cage wrote his 18 Microtonal Ragas after years of immersing himself in Indian music and philosophy. Nearly forty years later, Italian-German dhrupad singer Amelia Cuni, with extensive training in both the European and Indian classical traditions, interprets this work that could have been written for her special artistry.

Amelia Cuni, dhrupad vocals
Werner Durand, drones/electronics
Federico Sanesi, percussion
Raymond Kaczynski, percussion

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Composer and OM alum Kui Dong (OM 3) was introduced to improvisation by two of her colleagues at Dartmouth: electro-acoustic wizard and former Mills professor Larry Polansky, and experimental icon Christian Wolff (OM 6). On HANDS LIKE WAVES UNFOLD Kui Dong takes the piano preparations from John Cage’s SONATAS AND INTERLUDES as a point of departure for her improvisations.

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The definitive recording of Nancarrow’s Studies for Player Piano, originally released on LP by 1750 Arch Records, newly remastered in spectacular sound, representing the most faithful reproduction of what Nancarrow heard in his own studio. This is the only available recording utilizing Nancarrow’s original instruments: two 1927 Ampico player pianos, one with metal-covered felt hammers and the other with leather strips on the hammers. The 4-CD set includes a 52-page booklet with the original liner notes by James Tenney, an essay by producer Charles Amirkhanian and 24 illustrations.

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Home to earthquake swarms and volcanic eruptions, the countries of the Pacific Rim also produce some of the world's most groundbreaking composers. San Francisco's Del Sol String Quartet leads an inspiring seven-country tour. 20-page booklet essay by Charles Amirkhanian with photos.

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Before the premiere of his legendary political musical The Cradle Will Rock, and his famous opera Regina, Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964) produced striking chamber music that deserves a wider audience. Yet these scores, by the only American to study composition both with Arnold Schoenberg and Nadia Boulanger, remain unpublished and rarely played over the past 80 years. Other Minds is pleased to introduce these forgotten treasures, an unknown aspect of Blitzstein’s genius.

—Charles Amirkhanian

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Chinese-American composer Kui Dong draws inspiration from old forms, employs unusual instrumental combinations, and even commingles four languages within her compositions on this collection of world premiere recordings.

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Carl Ruggles (1876–1971) was an innovative American composer who used "dissonant counterpoint" to fashion a body of work both finely crafted and wrought with emotional power.

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