A 2019 Record Store Day release. If you heard about high prices on online music sites or are part of any worldwide record collectors circles, albums from groups such as Ithaca and Agincourt might sound familiar. Producers, composers, singers and multi-instrumentalists Peter Howell and John Ferdinando are two English musicians who started their partnership in the mid-60s. From 1968, with the release of their soundtrack for the play Alice Through The Looking Glass, until the release of a project called Friends in 1974, they put together a total of five albums, Ithaca and Agincourt being the two most expensive and collectable of all of them. Their music is absolutely exquisite and truly unique. It is predominantly folk, but very far from its traditional format. The longer you listen to their legacy, you’re going to find peculiar elements of classical gestures plus many flourishes of soft psychedelia, idiosyncratic progressive overtones, acid-folk, and a taste that you’re always entering the enchanting toy world of psych-pop. It does make total sense that the word cult is frequently applied to describe their creations. On this compilation (a 21-track double LP accompanied by a 19-track CD of totally distinct material), we also have the chance to read their own words. Both of them were interviewed for the liner notes, where they reveal their secret influences and their simple but unexpected ways of creating and composing. Be subtle, be daring, and immerse yourself in the magic world of Peter Howell and John Ferdinando.