Nyege Nyege Tapes out of Kampala, Uganda, is releasing some of the most brutal music in the world these days. A case in point comes from Nairobi, Kenya, where the band Duma call home. Within the first few seconds of this release, you get pummeled by a barrage of drumming…
Before I left to China in 2018, the last concert I caught was Iranian-Kurdish master Kayhan Kalhor along with Brooklyn Rider. As it turns out, their violinist, Johnny Gandelsman, was selling one of his albums on vinyl, which I duly purchased (and have nearly worn out). I’m pleased to say he…
No, this isn’t a prank. Lithuanian composer Mindaugas Piečaitis really did make a piece of orchestral music, and the cat, Nora, holds her own in comparison to more bloated practitioners of contemporary music. Not a bad effort, to be honest, and yes, it’s available through Apple Music, though there is…
A decade or two ago, there were only four bands who I would bother to make the trek out from the suburbs to the ‘great’ metropolis that is Los Angeles: Farflung, Tunnelmental, The Flash Express and The Secret Society of the Sonic Six. Each were brilliant in their way, and…
I don’t think Steve Kilbey of The Church needs much of an introduction, but it’s been awhile since I’ve heart what he’s been up to. This album shows him playing an acoustic set based on The Church’s second-finest album, and the recordings are of sparse, but warm and stunning quality. …
Los Angeles-based composer Odeya Nini is a marvel to listen to. She uses her voice and body to full effect as an instrument and composes profoundly interesting contemporary classical music, and whose works are radical enough to fit into musique concrète. If you enjoy the works of Meredith Monk or…
Our beloved friends at CPL-Music have submitted a bizarre and completely engrossing album of ethereal tribal music from Serbia in the form of Vartra. The band was founded in 2017 by Siniša Gavrić and sisters Ivana and Aleksandra Stošić. What makes the music so interesting is that it not only…
What a joy it is when a friend releases a new album! Argentine composer (now residing in England) Santiago Fradejas offers an experimental music album composed on an 8-string electric guitar and loops, making a soundscape album that is, at times, Fripperesque. It’s dark, but not foreboding, and gently flows…
I had the pleasure of meeting multi-instrumentalist Ragnar Ólafsson in Bulgaria when he was performing with the Icelandic post-rock group Árstíðir many years ago. Every now and again, I see his name pop up and I came across this gorgeously-sung single track he released in May of this year. From…
Compost Records continues to please my ears, this time releasing the latest album of South African composer Felix Laband, who works somewhere in the center of a dance/experimental/collage triangle. The music is ever-evolving, never boring, and blessed with a pleasant beat.