Andrew Land is a composer out of Birmingham, England whose work is simple and rhythmic, played in an elegant manner, without sounding simplistic. It’s minimalistic, so those of you who enjoy the works of Harold Budd, Philip Glass or even Hans-Joachim Roedelius may want to pass your time enjoying this EP. If you prefer to stream the release, Andrew obliges you at his Spotify account.
Studnia are a duo out of Poland amd Bulgaria who tie together quite a few disparate influences seamlessly, mixing IDM and Illbient Music with a dark ambient and post-Industrial feel, all while maintaining a beat you want to move to.
Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje is perhaps the most important active composer in Norway’s experimental music scene. The Trondheim native not only works with avant-garde music, but with contemporary classical, choral, experimental, electronic and even rock music. She provides a new release which clocks in about 30 minutes of vocal improvisation which goes from quiet blips and boops to what sounds like harrowing growling and shreiks (yes, it works perfectly within the context of this music), textured with loops and the sorts of soundscapes Ratkje is known for. The release is a documentation of her virtual performance at the TUSK Virtual…
This album is a sort of ‘holy grail’ for Brazilian jazz. From Marcos Resende’s Bandcamp site: Beyond their highly sought after 1978 album Festa Para Um Novo Rei – home to the mystical jazz-funk classic ‘Vidigal’ and released on Philips’ iconic Musica Popular Brasileira Contemporanea series (MPBC) – little is known about Marcos Resende & Index, even to aficionados of rare Brazilian music. Far Out Recordings is immensely proud to present their previously unreleased self-titled debut album from 1976, contributing a crucial missing work from the glory days of progressive Brazilian instrumental music. A prodigious child, Marcos Resende learned to…
Lappländer & Ancylus are a project hailing from Finland. According to their bio, both Janne Lappalainen (Lappländer) and Visa Uotila (Ancylus) have over two decades of history working in electronic music. This is quite a powerful listen. It reminds me of mid-period Tangerine Dream under the cavernous influence of Steve Roach, though with far shorter tracks. Quite a good effort.
This is a magnificent compilation of archival material. Dust-To-Digital has made a business out of release gorgeous archival recordings. Take for example the incredible collection called Music of Morocco, compiled by Paul Bowles. This collection will equal it. Music from South Africa, Japan, Algeria, Serbia, Colombia and all points in-between are covered, and with 100 tracks, you’ll be busy for a while. From Dust-To-Digital’s Bandcamp site: This collection highlights music that is often invisible in today’s world — the incredible world of global recordings that aren’t jazz, blues, country, rock ‘n roll, R&B, or “classical.” “Excavated Shellac: An Alternate History…
jhusel · Los Saicos – Fugitivo de Alcatraz I’d like to point you, dear readers, to a magnificent blog called The Listening Post. Each post includes a new song of the day, and this one is a treasure out of Peru from what many fans call the first proto-punk band, Los Saicos. You can read the blog here.
Imagine if you were listening to Neu! with a far more relaxed beat rather than the insistent and incessant pulse the legendary Krautrock band was famous for. Hear me out on this. It’s actually quite a magnificent sound to behold, really. There is a lo-fi, drony vibe to Fanciful Flights after starting quietly, with lots of rumbling on the first two tracks. Aidan Baker has always covered a lot of musical ground on his releases, but this one, muffled as it might sound, managed to hold my interest for the duration of the album.
It’s impressive to hear when those who work outside of music under normal circumstances bring their talents into music, especially of a dark ambient variety. Giacomo Triglia, who works under the name Bolduchin, provides a bleak, yet very lively soundtracks to the horrible dreams we all have now and then. Actually, this would make a perfect soundscape for walls closing in on you. Labels like Cold Meat Industry and Cryo Chamber would find this very familiar sonic territory.
In parts sounding like the demos of an early Killing Joke album drifting almost into doom and death-metal territory, JARS (ДЖРС) are atypical for what people thing of as stoner rock. They are comfortable playing in different styles, and their raw sound actually benefits the music tremendously. Brutal music, but very well-done.