CONET PROJECT, THE 
                      (Irdial Discs) 4cd
                      Finally! The rumors proved true: the Conet Project has 
                 now been re-pressed and is back in stock! One of the all-time 
                 faves of AQ staffers (who ALL have bought copies, multiple 
                 copies in fact) and customers alike. We sold 120 of these when 
                 we had them before, and would have sold a lot more had it not 
                 gone out of print so quickly! So, if you missed it before, now's 
                 your chance. For those who haven't already heard about it from 
                 us before (or encountered the stories on NPR), here's a brief 
                 description: basically, the Conet Project is a four-cd 
                 compilation of recordings of mysterious shortwave radio 
                 broadcasts, known as "numbers stations". These numbers 
                 stations are generally believed to be encrypted spy 
                 transmissions, but no concrete evidence has ever surfaced 
                 proving that suppostion. However, no credible *alternate* 
                 explanation has ever been demonstrated, either. For years 
                 (ever since the start of the Cold War), amateur radio 
                 enthusiasts have come across these sinister signals, and they 
                 continue to this day, broadcast in many languages all over the 
                 world (the theory is that some are CIA, some are KBG, some 
                 are Mossad, etc). In general, the transmissions consist of a 
                 deadpan voice (sometimes an old man, sometimes a young 
                 woman, etc.) reading a seemingly randon, meaningless series 
                 of numbers over and over. Sometimes the broadcsts are 
                 preceded by a musical cue (the "Swedish Rhapsody" music box 
                 one being a favorite of ours), and sometimes the numbers are 
                 not conveyed by voice but by even more cryptic electronics (as 
                 with "The Buzzer", and other noisy, abstract stuff found mainly 
                 on disc four). Needless to say, hearing these collected on 
                 these four cds is an unnerving experience. Not only does 
                 knowledge of the supposed purpose of these transmissions 
                 imbue them with an disturbing quality, but the repetition of 
                 the numbers combined with the background of shortwave radio 
                 static makes for a aurally hypnotic experience. If merely 
                 regarded as a piece of experimental ambient sound scupture, 
                 the Conet Project would be a brilliant and affecting piece of 
                 work, yet with the added context of international intelligence 
                 and conspiracy theory, it becomes even more intriguing and 
                 creepy. The four cds come with a large book (housed in its own 
                 jewel box) that provides a great deal of description of, and 
                 speculation about, the many recordings. Very well done. The 
                 Conet Project is possibly the most incredible, and weirdest, 
                 item of sound art/documentation that we've ever had here at 
                 Aquarius. Mesmerizing, fascinating, unique, massive, scary, but 
                 sometimes even soothing. 100 percent recommended to the 
                 adventurous listener ('cause it's not for everyone!). And once 
                 you have it you'll understand why it had to be a full four 
                 cds--being overwhelming is part of the obsessive allure of this 
                 project. The Irdial label has made their usually super-cryptic 
                 website a bit more accessible in honor of this re-release, and 
                 you'll find info and sound clips about Conet here: 
                 http://www.irdial.com/conet.htm . Also you can 
                 read AQ's own Jim Haynes' article originally printed in the SF 
                 Bay Guardian.