Month: May 2021

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Albaluna – Heptad

Our friends at Tejo Milenario have introduced us to yet another one of their brilliant band and we are expecting to highlight quite a few more as the weeks pass by!

Albaluna are a project from Portugal whose stage performances blend together music, poetry and dance, combining cultures of the Silk Road into one well-woven tapestry.  The music is a mix of electronic progressive music, pure folk forms from the Mediterranean, North Africa and even hints of Chinese music.  They literally sound like they are able to vacuum a genre of music and easily mix it into their palette.  They gained so much attention that the band represented Portugal in Macao (China) with a concert at the Macao Cultural Central and with the participation as soloist musicians in that same festival’s orchestra, conducted by the well-renowned Chinese maestro Yan Huichang.

For more on the band, visit Tejo Milenario’s website highlighting their work.

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Albireon / Zeresh – No Longer Mourn For Me

Our beloved friends from Israel, Zeresh, have collaborated with Italian project Albireon for an apocalyptic doom-folk classic.  Considering the state of the world, I choose that word advisedly.

This album has something special to it because so many parties come together and work seamlessly, something rare for a split album.  The music is both spacious and claustrophobic at the same time, as the tones are dark, a bit creepy and haunting.  This would compare rather well to the early acoustic forays into folk that Current 93 took decades ago, though with a gloomier feel about it.

Take, for instance, the first track of the compilation, which has Albireon pairing together with Zeresh chanteuse Tamar Singer in a psychedelic folk romp that would evoke memories of the legendary Comus, or my fellow American friends Changes, to those listeners who are over 50 or really deep into progressive-folk.  To you younger readers, click on that Comus link.  It’s worth your time learning about them.  Albireon’s contributions are sparse acoustic settings which would be quite a treat for neofolk fans.

Zeresh add something quite different in their contribution.  This is more akin to acid folk, specifically the sorts of things which have been on my playlist like Masaki Batoh’s Ghost and Kikagaku Moyo, with instrumental work done in tandem with Michael Zolotov of Kadaver.

The split is dark, gloomy, but all the better for it.  Doom-folk should not evoke rainbows.

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David San – Frabulloso EP

Thanks to our dear friends at Colombia’s fine techno label, Miniline, for introducing us to the work of David San.  This is a one-track release of danceable tech-house from a composer, whom I believe, works out of Colombia.  There seems to be an amazingly active electronic music scene popping up, to go along with the other, more traditional music which the country is noted for.

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Various Artists – That Sounds Greek To Me | Apr 27 | Muses & Sirens

First, a debt of thanks goes to Dimitris Tsironis who took the time to send me this compilation for review.  His label, 1tracktape, is doing a great service exposing Greek experimental and avant-garde music to the world, and the quality of this compilation is superb.  What’s more, the label is unique in that it releases albums every New Moon and (most of) Full Moon dates.  I can’t say I’ve heard of any other labels maintaining such a specific schedule, so each moon that pops up will be an opportunity to check out what new releases Mr. Tsironis has in store for us.

What is pleasant about the album is that it doesn’t stick to one format.  One can hear electroacoustic music, ethereal music bordering on gothic (think Dead Can Dance), offered by Death Of Codes.  Field recordings and ritualistic music reminiscent of 1980s and 1990s cassette culture about here.  It’s a label definitely worth exploring.

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Various Artists – Anthology Of Experimental Music From China

I don’t do top-ten lists, and I don’t ever plan on doing that in the future, but things can change at any moment.  Still, if I had to nominate a favorite record label at this moment, there’s no doubt it would be Italy’s Unexplained Sounds Group.  Each compilation is a tour guide of experimental music from select parts of the world.  This one is near and dear to me, as China was and shortly will be my home for quite a while, and Raffaele Pezzella does yeoman’s work documenting what is happening in the Middle Kingdom experimental-music-wise.

Here are some words from Raffaele regarding this release:

China’s experimental music and sound art scene began to take shape in the post-Tiananmen era in the late 1990s. A few musicians from the mainland’s underground music scene started to experiment with new ways of making music while the music industry co-opted the once revolutionary and independent rock music scene. The Hong Kong based experimental musician Dickson Dee and the U.S. based artist Yao Dajunin introduced Western avant-garde, experimental music to the mainland through the Internet and through the organization of music tours and festivals. The practice and spread of sound art, particularly installation and performative kinds, was made possible partially by venues such as contemporary art galleries and studios that have come to flourish in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Developed outside of academic and official institutions, China’s sound art and experimental music scene encompasses noise music, experimental music, free improvisation, sound performance art, and sound installation.
Adel Wang Jing

The Unexplained Sounds Group is proud to present an anthology of experimental music from China, showcasing veteran musicians alongside many young and promising artists from the contemporary underground music scene.

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Gralitsa – Little Mosquitoes Are Sleeping This Night

Some time ago I had reviewed the work of an ethno-folk-jazz band from Kostroma, Russia called Gralitsa, and I found them favorable.  I have to say that I find this album at least as favorable, but it sounds like a totally different band.  This sound is far more affected by genres like trip-hop, downtempo music, and darkjazz (a touch, anyway).  There’s also a slightly ‘free’ element to the music, though it never sounds disjointed.

The track Echo Poor Heart is the cornerstone of the album, showcasing the vocals of Olga “Gralitsa” Rodionova layered on top of a dark, jazz noir soundscape.  This manages to gel together nicely.  Compliments to the band for this great release.

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IO – ∀LICE

I have a particularly strong attraction to Porto Alegre, Brazil.  I have a few friends from there, one in particular who was a charmer, and it seems that everything from jazz to progressive rock seems to do well there.

This is the breeding ground of IO, a visual artist, scenographer, fashion designer, performer and musician from Porto Alegre.  She uses a more cinematic approach to musique concrète music, and the pieces play like wordless stories that play for the cinema in your mind.  It’s a very well-recorded album, easy to get lost in, and it was a pleasure to listen to.

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trajedesaliva – Ultratumba

It’s so nice to see new music come from Galicia, where my paternal ancestors hail from. trajedesaliva are from Vigo and seem to be influenced by dark ambient, ritual music and post-Industrial soundscapes, though it doesn’t try to overwhelm the listener. Something I really liked about this album is that it sounds, in parts, like 1970s Kosmische Musik (think of Tangerine Dream in their 70s prime), which makes this unique among darkwave or dark ambient bands.

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Alexei Aigui & Ensemble 4’33” – Alcohol

I have been a fan of Alexei Aigui’s ensemble work for at least 20 years now, going all the way back to his appearance on the excellent, though now defunct Russian label SoLyd (see the release here).  He has become even more innovative, more progressive, and this latest album, Alcohol, will be appreciated by those who like chamber-rock, symphonic rock or even those into avant-progressive / Rock-In-Opposition-style music.  You can purchase the album over at Apple or check it out on various streaming platforms by clicking this link.