May you, the reader, have a wonderful Fathers Day. We’ll be reviewing again tomorrow. For now, enjoy Leon Thomas grooving.
Leon Thomas – Song For My Father
RHaD – Metamusic
It’s one thing when you’re the impresario of a record label who consistently delivers astoundingly good quality. It’s quite something else when you make music yourself that is as solid as any of the releases you so lovingly curate.
RHaD (Research for Historical Audio Documents) is a side project of Raffaele Pezzella (better known as Sonologyst), and head of so many incredible boutique record labels. This collection of tracks pulls together influences like radio transmissions, telephonic conversations, hi-fi test signals, old and forgotten documentaries, unknown field recordists, and threads these bits together into wonderfully coherent compositions made for late-night black-and-white TV viewing. A pleasantly surreal experience from Raffaele and company.
Kimilia – Chants d’un temps, ანუ ადრინდელი სიმღერები
I can’t imagine there being traditional music more pleasant to the ear than that of Georgian polyphony. Whether it is in an ecclesiastical setting or around the dinner table, the Georgians are incredible singers, and this particular band, Kimilia, do a phenomenal job interpreting songs that go as far back as to the country’s medieval period. Stunning!
Ikuro Takahashi – しりえないものとずっと
An’archives, a French experimental music record label, has released しりえないものとずっと (Forever With The Incomprehensible) by legendary drummer and percussionist Ikuro Takahashi. Takahashi has worked with the likes of Keiji Haino’s power-trio Fushitsusha, Seishokki, High Rise, Ché-Shizu, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Kousokuya, LSD March and Nagisa Ni Te. This kind of pedigree is unmatched in the Japanese improvisational music scene. The album is volcanic in its power, full of thundering percussion which would equal, and in some parts surpass, many percussion based free-jazz albums.
Dead Kennedys – Viva Las Vegas
No review today because we had to send my brother packing to his new home, so in honor of his new abode, I present you with the song perhaps best associated with the city, albeit in a slightly surreal form, courtesy of the Dead Kennedys.
叶尔波利 Yerboli – 哈萨克精神Kazakh Spirit
China has 55 legally recognized minorities, each contributing to the mosaic of the country. This particular project, Yerboli, comes from the Kazakh community, but it is not ethnic music per sé. This is folk music, but with a slightly more mystical element to it. Shenzhen-based Old Heaven Books released this album, and they boast quite a healthy catalog of this kind of music. They are worth exploring.
Biliana Voutchkova – Seeds Of Songs
This release is a double introduction of sorts for me; first, for the chance to finally delve into a full recording of the work of Biliana Voutchkova, an interdisciplinary artist, violinist, performer, composer, improviser and curator from one of the countries I most enjoy visiting, Bulgaria (though she is based in Berlin these days). Second, it is nice to see that Café OTO in London have opened a record label called Takuroku. Considering that the venerable café has hosted so many musicians of exquisite quality throughout the years, it seems fitting that they would give a platform to someone as musically innovated and adventurous as Biliana.
The track itself is thirty-plus minutes of violin manipulation, partially recorded live and partially under lockdown conditions we’ve all had to suffer through the past year and a half. There are parts in this recording where Biliana’s voice is used as a counter-instrument, where she and the violin have a sort of dialogue. Piano makes an appearance around 4:15 into the piece, along with percussions of a few sorts (I’m not sure, but I could have sworn I heard a gong making an appearance here and there).
What I loved most was the economy of the piece. There are quiet parts, the way one has a conversation, and, during an important part of the discussion, there is a moment, a pause that stirs up a bit of tension. Avant-garde music this organic will keep Biliana’s name listed favorably among the best of new music.
Click on the album cover if you are interested in purchasing this album directly from Café OTO.
Star Band de Dakar – Psicodelia Afro-Cubana de Senegal
Cuba has a long, storied history of sharing a strong bond with many countries in Africa. From the horrifying slave trade to the Cuban Communist “revolution,” culture and music have flowed back and forth between the island nation and most of the richly cultured continent. This release from the now-legendary Ostinato Records documents one of my favorite bands, the Senegalese powerhouse Star Band de Dakar. The music is a wonderful mix of their mbalax, one of the many native styles of Senegal, with rhumba and other styles to make an Afro-Cuban cocktail. This is a joyful release – fun, danceable and energetic.
Ferran Fages – Llum Moll
I’ve had the pleasure of reading about Farren Fages‘ work for at least 20 years now, but I never had a chance to fully explore his work. I’m happy to say that I regret not diving into his catalogue earlier. It’s impressive, to say the least.
This particular album, Llum Moll, is a 41-minute audio sculpture which was originally released in 2012. According to his notes on the Bandcamp page hosting this release, “The composition was made in two parts. The first was to record and then select fragments with different lengths, pitches and textures. The second was to re-adjust the pitch of the chosen fragments and then create a multilayered composition with a maximum of eight simultaneous tracks.”
The end result is a loud, organ-like wispy wall of found sound that reminds me of so many nights listening to the radio with feedback interference that, in the day of perfect digital clarity, seems nostalgic. Ferran should be commended for such a fine release.
Yat-Kha – We Will Never Die
Albert Kuvezin (Альберт Кувезин) is a legend in the ethno-rock and World Music community. He was one of the founders of the band Huun-Huur-Tu, which brought throat singing into prominence. He went on to form his own band, Yat-Kha, who I came across in 1993. He was managed to meld together traditional Tuvan music (the region in Russia close to Mongolia and not so terribly far from China) with post-punk and even country music.
On June 21, Yat-Kha’s latest album, We Will Never Die, is due for release as a download and will be available on CD and vinyl.
The grooves on this particular album lean more towards a post-punk sound. Russia has a magnificent indie music tradition, but this sounds more influenced by British and German post-punk of the golden era, sometime between 1980-1985. The vocals are vintage Kuvezin, as they are husky, raw. This is one of the coolest releases of the year, and if you are fortunate enough to purchase this on CD, you will be happy to know there are two bonus tracks you’ll have that I don’t: Solitude by Black Sabbath and While My Guitar Gently Weeps by George Harrison.
Our dear friends at Lollipoppe Shoppe are owed big thanks for releasing this, and for continuing to blaze a trail since the early 1990s by introducing many new and interesting emerging East Asian rock music artists and experimenters.