Båul have managed to release an album which travels the world while residing in the beautiful state of Colorado. They mix Arabic, Russian, Hebrew and other music together into a cohesive, energetic album. Really fun listening.
Båul – Camel [شتر]
Various Artists – The Psychedelic Sounds of The Blog That Celebrates Itself, Volume II
The Blog That Celebrates Itself was a website and record label based out of São Paolo, Brazil which dedicates itself to promoting shoegaze and other underground artists from all over the world, of course specializing in young Brazilian acts.
This particular comp leans more towards pop-psych music, with covers from bands such as the Velvet Underground and Herman’s Hermits done in a drone-like, hazy fashion. The blog and the label are worthy reading.
Linn Friberg feat. Zumaia – Oddity Spirale (Remixes) EP
Our dear friend Zumaia has reached the mid-century mark in his life, which is, of course, a wonderful milestone. We at Music You Need To Hear celebrate his birth, and the exceptional work he does with his label, the Bordeaux-based Kalamine Records. In honor of this milestone, Linn Friberg, composer and curator of the INTENT series on the label collaborate on a sonic birthday present for fans of the label.
The music is cavernous, full of post-industrial and dark ambient soundscapes. I would compare the sound to early experimental cassette-based musicians, but the sounds are so utterly crisp that it would do this EP an injustice to compare it to what were, unfortunately, usually muddy recordings. This resonates deeply in my ears.
Robert Scott Thompson – Through Circle and Shadow
It’s been a while since I had the pleasure to feature Robert Scott Thompson on our blog, though you will be seeing releases from a label he plays a large role in, Aucourant Records, in the future.
Through Circle and Shadow is a 7-and-a-half minute piece of gentle ambient music which is dark and reminiscent of some Berlin School-related artists, and others like Robert Rich and Steve Roach. There’s something more cosmic in this release, however, and it sounds magnificent on a set of good headphones.
Various Artists – New State Of Flux
The second release from Raffaele Pezzella’s Unexplained Sounds Group’s latest acquisition, the magnificently dark Reverse Alignment record label.
This is a different affair from yesterday’s compilation, which was more extreme in sound. New State of Flux doesn’t have the same reach in terms of geography, but it covers music which is more focused, more intense, and gives a feeling of being part of a film-noir soundtrack. Of particular interest to me was the piece done by Vongoiva called Palovankka, which you can hear below. Well done, as always.
Various Artists – Anthology Of Post Industrial Music From Balkan Region
The first of two releases related to our friend Raffaele Pezzella (who performs under the name Sonologyst) for today.
This release from Unexplained Sounds Group is part of a series of compilations of experimental and dark ambient music concentrated in different regions. This one is particularly special to me as, though my birth city is Los Angeles, those who know me well know that the Balkans has served as a second home to me over the years. Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania all seem to be well-represented, and musically, each track is up to Raffaele’s high standards. This is a fine travelogue for the region’s best new talent.
[Avant Music News] Jon Hassell Profiled in Memorium
Source: The Guardian. By the time Jon Hassell became a revered figure – the kind of determinedly non-commercial, avant-garde artist whose ideas are …
Jon Hassell Profiled in Memorium
SONG OF THE DAY Johnny Colon – Merecumbe
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Known and celebrated for his contributions to the boogaloo sounds of the 1960’s, Johnny Colon is an American musician born in ‘El Barrio’ New York …
SONG OF THE DAY Johnny Colon – Merecumbe
Anna Michaels & Yordan Kostov Quintet – Abstract Attitude
Anna Michaels is not the Toni Morrison-kind of poet I can’t get into. Rather, she has the power of a street storyteller, the sort of person who you can engage at a New York or Los Angeles coffee shop talking about her experiences across the world, her observations of American life both as a local and a foreigner in some sense, and at her best, her words can be rather spellbinding. She is the sort of person I would utterly enjoy a coffee with.
It’s quite a treat to know that she has paired up with Yordan Kostov’s band, one of the many talented groups working out of Skopje, (Northern) Macedonia, my second home town. The band give a sort of ‘beat’ feeling soundtrack to Anna’s wordplay, and the album gels together well. PMG Records should be commended for continually producing fine jazz.
Jisr (جسر) – Too Far Away
It’s a minor tragedy that Jisr have not made their debut album available as a download on Bandcamp, but you can find it over at La Boîte à Musique and Turtle Records in Belgium, Deejay.de and Decks in Germany and surely other fine record shops near you, though I’d pick this up quickly as it’s running out of print everywhere I look.
To the music. This is ecstatic spiritual jazz infused with Kosmische Musik, odd progressive and improvisational rock (think Embryo and Dissidenten, especially since the legendary Roman Bunka is involved in this disc playing oud and guitar), but the star of this album is definitely Dr. Mohcine Ramdan on daf, gembri and vocals. He simply lets loose with heavy interstellar grooves, and is superbly supported by some of the finest musicians in the German improv and World Music scene.
As I understand it, Sound Voyage Records handled the vinyl production, and CDs can be obtained through the sublime Enja Records. My goodness, this simply puts one into another world!