As I need a rest day (Beijing has been lovely to return to, but a challenge to adapt to), I leave for you a well-done video on the history of Industrial music and how it mutated into something very different from its original form.
Shane Beck & Michael Brückner – Extended Sigh
There’s little I can add to my dear friend, the Last American Poet, Shane Beck, and heir to the Berlin-School throne, Michael Brückner, so I will let the gentlemen speak for themselves. You can read further at this release’s Bandcamp site: In what turned out to be a spontaneous burst Continue Reading
Nicola Conte – Umoja
My friends, mark your calendars for June 30, 2023. This is the date that Italian DJ/bandleader/impresario and all-around man of good taste Nicola Conte releases his latest album under the banner of Far Out Recordings, who have never let me down on a single release all these years. As Nicola’s Continue Reading
Lounès Matoub – Lettre Ouverte Aux... (25th Anniversary)
Lounès Matoub was the controversial voice of a generation of Algerian Kabyle people. He was brutally assassinated on June 25, 1998, but his work lives on. From Elmir Records’ Bandcamp site: “In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of his assassination, Elmir offers the very first vinyl edition of the reference Continue Reading
Jurango/Glances – PSEU004
Pseudonym Records of of London, UK, publish hard and aggressive drum & bass, giving a nostalgic vibe for the genre’s heydey of the 1990s. Jurango and Glances offer up two utterly menacing tracks each.
Santeri Dobrynin, Egor Masaltsev, Olga Plekhanova – Karjalan Jouhikko: Karelian Instrumental Music
This release from our friends at Antonovka Records features three players of the jouhikko, a local stringed instrument: Santeri (Alexander) Dobrynin and Olga Plekhanova from Karelia and Russian Egor Masaltsev, who moved to the region. There are 22 tracks of charming interplay between the three and individually. All the tunes Continue Reading
VIRUS2020 ( فيروس ٢٠٢٠) – Sect (طائفه)
VIRUS2020 are a wonderfully freakish project out of Tunisia which manages to bring together soundtrack music, post-Industrial references and post-rock into a thoroughly weird and engaging stew. This is a fun headphone listen.
Akiko Yano – Iroha Ni Konpeitou – LP Deluxe Edition with 4p insert and OBI strip
The ever-fantastic Wewantsounds is giving the gold-star treatment to Akiko Yano, wife of the recently departed Ryuichi Sakamoto and fine musician in her own right, collaborating with Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Charlie Haden, Bill Frisell, Thomas Dolby, and a host of others. From the label’s Bandcamp Continue Reading
Kuzman – Fine Wound
Kuzman Markoski has produced a rather fine EP’s worth of soundtrack-style music. The composer, thereminist and sound designer offers a groove-filled, damn-near danceable disc. From his Bandcamp site: “Kuzman is a versatile musician and audio-visual artist based in Skopje, Macedonia. With a background in classical training, he has honed his Continue Reading
Abandoned Toys – Where Tides Defy the Moon
This is a curious release. Abandoned Toys manages to balance ethereal ambient music with symphonic progressive rock. A rather brilliant balance, indeed.