Expand your taste in music. Based in Beijing, China.
This work by Chinese composers Li Hongqi (violin) and Yang Haison (theremin) is a 52-minute piece of droning experimental music. The feeling of the recording reminds me of early Industrial music and it flows rather nicely. Thanks to storerecords out of Beijing for releasing this.
This release is an absolute mindblower of an album, documenting the debut of Grupo Um, one of Brazil’s most adventurous fusion bands. From their Bandcamp site:
“Starting Point was to mark the inception of one of Brazil’s most daring instrumental groups. Their debut now sits in the lofty echelon of otherworldly 70s Brazilian music, alongside the likes of Marcos Resende & Index’s self-titled debut, Cesar Mariano & Cia’s Sao Paulo Brasil, Azymuth’s debut and indeed Hermeto Pascoal’s Viajando Com O Som. But just like all of those titles, which were either shelved or largely ignored at the time, Grupo Um – so radically ahead of their time – struggled to find a label to release their debut album. So Lelo kept the tapes safe in his archives, which is where they sat for almost half a century. Finally, almost fifty years later, this mesmerising piece of history is here, and it was only the beginning.”
A crucial release documenting the rise of an incredible band.
We have the joy of announcing another well-done reissue by our friends at Wewantsounds! This release is an expanded reissue of Lalo Schifrin’s soundtrack to director Frank Perry’s 1974 thriller, “Man On A Swing.”
There are thirty tracks on this piece of vinyl, and you’ll hear everything from Schifrin’s typically sublime scoring, mixing jazz, Bossa Nova, and groove as well as library music. The music is remastered from the original three-track masters and sounds incredibly punchy.
Track List:
Side 1
1. Maggie’s Theme 1 0.25
2. Juke Box Source 1.40
3. Evelyn Story 1.42
4. Beetle Search* 0.13
5. Rosehaven Motel 1.57
6. Trip to LA 1.43
7. Maggie’s Theme 2 0.27
8. Stressed Out/Choked Up 2.14
9. Janet’s Mazurka* 1.32
10. Maggie Retraced 1.52
11. Factory Vibe 1.22
12. A Wet Nothing 1.24
13. Suspense/Wills’ Trance pt. 1 1.58
14. Bell Signals 0.19
15. Taken Away 0.37
16. Radio Source 1.26
Side 2
1. FM Groove 0.42
2. Forest Finale 0.23
3. Penultima Trance 4.13
4. Parking Lot Shuffle 1.21
5. Dialatone 0.10
6. Wills’ Trance pt. 2/Wills’ Trance pt. 3 2.56
7. Wills’ Trance pt. 4 2.36
8. Gratitude 0.35
9. Empty Torch/Mailman/Phone Voice 2.39
10. On The Move 1.10
11. Wills’ Last Trance 1.16
12. End Credits 1.20
13. Radio Source Rhythm (Alt. Take)* 0.57
14. Juke Box Source (Alt. Take)* 0.31
The Sextones are a neo-soul band out of Reno, Nevada who are signed to the Italian label Record Kicks. The sound is a nice blend of 60’s garage rock blended with elements of Motown soul, especially if you are into the music of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.
I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Marc Méan’s previous works while working on my old blog, but this one just came across my radar, and it is absolutely shimmering (no pun intended, as Shimmering Records is his label for this release). This will appeal greatly to those who enjoy the work of Lubomyr Melchik and Philip Glass, especially the cinematic feel of the second track. It was impressive to read that he also had a background in free jazz and psychedelic rock, which gives him a wide palette to work from. Smooth, gentle and engaging listening.
Hakki Obadia was a New York-based violinist of Iraqi Jewish extraction. The ever-wonderful Canary Records presents a 25-track collection of wonderfully remastered tracks Obadia did for various labels. The music is a reminder of what Baghdad must have been like a century ago.
Our heroes age. After the passing of Yukihiro Takahashi last month, it got me thinking about how long we have Sakamoto-san and Hosono-san with us. Both are due a tribute album of some sort.
Thankfully, Milan Records has done a sterling job bringing together Sakamoto collaborators, friends, and those who are indebted to the master. Artists like Christian Fennesz and Alva Noto (Carsten Nicolai), who have collaborated on some incredible glitch albums, are joined by his countrymen Cornelius and Otomo Yoshihide, along with old friend David Sylvian, all of whom do wonders reworking Sakamoto’s music into sparkling new creations. If you have a compilation of this caliber, with guests such as the Cinematic Orchestra, Hildur Guðnadóttir and Lim Giong, it’s fair to expect this compilation to be a stunner. I’m not at all disappointed.
One of the tracks featured, Thundercat’s reworking of Thousand Knives, can be heard on the video below:
Our dear friends at Far Our Recordings deliver the first solo album of Brazilian jazz legend Hermeto Pascoal. From the label’s Bandcamp site:
“Far Out Recordings proudly presents Hermeto Pascoal’s remarkable self-titled debut album. Recorded in 1970 at A&R studios in New York, the album features certified North American titans including Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Joe Farrel and Googie Coppola, and Brazilian stars Airto Moreira and Flora Purim (who also produced the album).
While it was Hermeto’s first album released under his own name, he had spent the decade or so prior making a name for himself in Brazil and internationally as a composer, arranger and instrumentalist with groups including Sambrassa Trio, Quarteto Novo and Brazilian Octopus, before going on to work with (amongst countless others) Edu Lobo, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Donald Byrd, Airto Moreira and Miles Davis, who allegedly called Hermeto “one of the most important musicians on the planet”.”
Unfortunately, this is not available solely as a download, but you can get it on CD and vinyl from Bandcamp or your favorite local source.
I receive a double blessing for this release. I have the privilege of pointing my readers to a wonderful boutique label out of Brazil called z0 who are producing quality experimental music, and I add to this the joy of introducing more music from Pete Swinton, whose work has really caught my attention (thanks, in part, to Jeff Gburek).
There are two tracks on this album. The first, Blizzard In Antarctica, clocks in at 15 minutes, and is as cold and noisy as you would expect such a natural phenomenon to be. It’s noise in a sense, but sculpted and shaped rather than blasted. The second piece, Forty Degrees Below Zero, is a long, swelling piece of ambient drone which builds into a gentle cracking up of an ice shelf. Enjoyable, especially for an experimental work.
Legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach passed away yesterday at the age of 94, leaving behind countless pop hits covered by singers both major and minor. British label Moochin’ About have collected a 146-track compilation covering his earlier material, and it features artists like Dick Van Dyke, Cliff Richard, and perhaps his best interpreter, Dionne Warwick.