MCPE Records is a French label who seem to specialize in great North African music. This release featured what looks to have been a cassette by Algerian Raï singer Boutaiba S’Ghir, and it’s as joyous and synthy as one would expect from the genre.
Mikhail Chekalin – Special Selected Works
Mikhail Chekalin is one of the elder statesmen of Soviet electronic music. This is a collection of more orchestral works, and the remastering work is very well done. There are elements of Berlin School electronica and dark ambient which will appeal to a wide range of listeners.
Skáld – Huldufólk
Your browser does not support iframes. The French collective Skáld come as a revelation to me. These are Frenchmen who expertly perform Nordic music and imbue it with everything from folk music to metal. From the band’s press release: “As the heirs of the ancient poets known as skalds, Continue Reading
Etron Fou Leloublan – Les Poumons Gonflés
Etron Fou Leloublan are (were?) an avant-guard rock band out of France whose main claim to fame was being one of the early bands who would end up forming the genre Rock In Opposition, a loosely-knit group of bands who opposed the business which refused to recognize their music, according Continue Reading
1414E08 vs The Last American Poet – Necronomicon
Harold Bertram, a sound designer out of Germany who works under the name 1414E08 collaborates with The Last American Poet, Shane Beck. Shane’s calming voice and choice of subject matter, the infamous American horror-meister H. P. Lovecraft are expertly couched by Bertram’s horror-drone soundtrack. Remarkable.
Bruce Licher – Tape Excavation (Special Expanded Edition)
Bruce Licher is an icon in the art-punk/post-punk/post-Industrial music scene. He was a member if the seminal band Savage Republic, runs Independent Projects Records and Independent Projects Press for his graphic design work. Though we’re a bit early to the party, so to speak, Bruce will be reissuing an album Continue Reading
ZA! – Eki Eki Eki Kazam!
Za! were introduced to me by a friend in Spain, and I have to say, both the band and their label, Galleta Records, are putting out fine minimal post-punk.
Les Imprimés – I’ll Never Leave b/w If I
Les Imprimés are a Norwegian band who offer up deep neo-soul music. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Morten Martens has a voice that would have sounded perfect for 60’s AM radio, and the production is about as authentic as it gets for the time period.
Grup Doğuş – Grup Doğuş’tan Aranjmanlar
Don’t let the cover fool you – Grup Doğuş produce great Andalou music! The band hails from Germany but have Turkish roots, and bring the wild sound of Anatolian Rock and meld it to surf music, psychedelic rock and Hammond organ vibes.
Youmna Saba – Arb’een (40)
Lebanese singer and oudist Youmna Saba offers up 40, an album of experimental music, but not in the way you think. From her Bandcamp site: “”Arb‘een (40)” is a solo experiment in songwriting, challenging narrative structures and proposing alternative readings of time and continuity. It is rendered by use of Continue Reading