Month: December 2022

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Linda Ayupuka – God Created Everything

Indeed, He did, yet as I’m new to the Fra Fra scene in Ghana, if Linda Ayupuka is a good example of what kind of music the genre produces, I think I’m going to like digging into it.  The music is a combo of tinny beats, lo-fi disco, and a joyous authenticity to the vocals.  African music even with the massive reach it has had over the past few years, needs to continue to branch out into the world consciousness, and this is yet another gem to share with the world.

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Thanatos – Christmas Moments

If you’re going to spend the winter holidays listening to Gothic Christmas music, you could do much worse than hearing Thanatos doings warm and rather respectable Christmas tunes.

May you, my friends who are either Orthodox, Catholic or those who participate in one way or another in Advent, enjoy a pleasant time.

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The Crossing – Carols after a Plague

I knew nothing about the band The Crossing, but after seeing that a composition by drummer Tyshawn Sorey was featured, I thought it prudent to listen to that track and then to the whole album.  It is, unsurprisingly, a gorgeous, if dissonant, listening experience.

From The Crossing’s Bandcamp site:

“Throughout its history, the Philadelphia based contemporary chamber choir The Crossing, led by conductor Donald Nally, has championed works that address social, political, and environmental issues. So it is consistent with the group’s history and mission that their latest release, Carols After a Plague, takes a broad view of our collective experience of the recent pandemic era, inviting twelve composers to look inward and engage with some of myriad ways in which the last few years have forced all of us to confront difficult realities and gain strength from solidarity with one another. The result is a moving tribute to the resilience of communities and a clarion call to renew our collective commitment to justice.”

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Chris McGregor – In His Good Time

London served as the home of many magnificent South African musicians, and it is safe to say that pianist Chris McGregor and his band, the Brotherhood of Breath, was the linchpin of the expat community.  This particular album was released in 1979 and originally reissued in 2012 with bonus material.  This is a shiny, well-remastered digital version, and as the material is all solo, McGregor is in fine form on his piano.

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Illusion of Safety & Z’ev – Illusion of Safety & Z’ev

This release, by No Part Of It Records, is a fine label putting out quality discs, and this archival album combines Dan Burke of Illusion of Safety and Z’ev, two of America’s foremost Industrial musicians. From the label’s Bandcamp site:

“What we have here is a potent cocktail of scrap metal, processed field recordings, modular synthesis, and plenty of aptly placed intermittent percussive clatter. The overall impression I’m left with is a very calculated sound collage that still feels like the sonic equivalent of a deep epiphany, or maybe a catalyst for one. What seems like a casual interweaving of a wide range of unexpected elements slowly becomes sewn together into a journey that makes perfect sense, but leaves the listener wanting more at the same time. Both of these intensely driven characters continued to evolve and change creatively over decades, into new and challenging directions, while others have come and gone, and still more continue to be one-trick-ponies. That Daniel Burke and Z’ev did collude during our short tenure on this earth is certainly a matter worthy of applause, and simply could not sit on the shelf any longer. “

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Svaneborg Kardyb – Over Tage

Svaneborg Kardyb is a remarkably cool band Denmark, with elements of nu-jazz, Scandinavian folk and a similarity with more free bands on the ECM label, though these lads call Gondwana Records home these days.  From the band’s Bandcamp site.

“Svaneborg Kardyb are Nikolaj Svaneborg – Wurlitzer, Juno, piano and Jonas Kardyb – drums, percussion a multi award winning duo from Denmark, where they won two “grammys” at the Danish Music Awards Jazz 2019: New artist of the year and Composer of the year. 
Drawing on Danish folk music and Scandinavian jazz influences, including Nils Frahm, Esbjörn Svennson and Jan Johansson’s landmark recording Jazz På Svenska, their music is an exquisite and joyful melding of beautiful melodies, delicate minimalism, catchy grooves, subtle electronica vibes, Nordic atmospheres and organic interplay, all underwritten by the sheer joy of playing together. “We started in the earliest of mornings over the blackest of coffee, sometimes even without talking, just music.”

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Oscar Mulero – Desde La Boca Del Le​ó​n EP

Spanish techno producer and label owner Oscar Mulero is featured today, and I have to say that this is the best techno album (or in this case, EP) I’ve heard in a long time.  The tracks on this EP are beat-heavy, rather brutal, and yet they keep such a hypnotic rhythm that you cannot help but be impressed by such pounding, nor will you be able to not twitch in time to the music.

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Wintermute – Summersnitch

The esteemed French label Lotophagus Records released an album by Wintermute on December 2, and it’s a rather deep, dark and dubby affair, mixing trip-hop, the aforementioned dub and experimental rock music into something which reminds me of Cabaret Voltaire’s more dub-infested moments, or even acts like Scorn.

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Aravt – Guren (Г​ү​р​э​н)

Melodic Death Metal is something I don’t spend a lot of time listening to, but it is not because I don’t like the genre.  It is merely because I don’t have the knowledge base or background, and I’ve relied on a few friends to turn me on to some of the better bands out there.  Mongolia’s Aravt is one of them.

The band blend metal riffs with some quieter elements of Mongolian traditional music.  It’s a natural-sounding blend, and worth exploring further.