The Heliocentrics & Melvin Van Peebles‘ The Last Transmission has been given a new vinyl repress. 

The Last Transmission was originally released in October of 2014 with Now-Again Records. Fusing together the deep and raw grooves of The Heliocentrics with the visionary monologue of poet, filmmaker, and songwriter Melvin Van Peebles, the album is a timeless piece of art that presents a conjoined sense of influence and presentation from their respective crafts. 

Across The Last Transmission, The Heliocentrics are comprised of Shabaka Hutchings (bass clarinet), Tom Hodges (electronics), Adrian Owusu (guitar), Jack Yglesias (vibraphone, flute, metallic objects), Ollie Parfitt (keyboards, effects), and Susi O’Neil (theremin), with Melvin Van Peebles writing and recording all vocal sections. 

The new vinyl repress from 2019 is an exact reproduction print of the first runs, with copies available for order here. 

From Now-Again Records founder Egon: “This was a complicated album to create–it went through a variety of iterations over a period of years with two sets of mavericks creating in separate studios, separated by an ocean. One, a collective from the UK that had ensconced themselves in the basement of a council flat’s rec center making psychedelic space jazz….The other, an aging but fiery orator (amongst other things) who had a very particular message in a bottle to deliver into the cosmos.

“The album went through so many iterations–I’ll never forget the summer session we spent in a bedroom studio in a Bronx apartment complex with one of Sun Ra’s old engineers recording alternate takes of Melvin’s voice to send to Malcolm and the crew. But the result was astounding, amongst my favorite records I’ve ever assembled, and I’m glad it’s available for people to be equally entranced and confused by.” 

Tracklisting

01. Prologue

02. Big Bang Reincarnation

03. Searching For Signs Of Life

04. Blue Mist

05. The Cavern

06. Transformation (Pt. 1)

07. Transformation (Pt. 2)

08. Telepathic Routine

09. The Dance

10. Trust The Cosmos (Believe In The Universe)

11. Infinite List (Toss The Dice)

12. Epilogue