Pedro Mizutani is 21 years old, but the Brazilian guitarist and singer has the voice to do justice to Bossa Nova. Thank Nice Guys Records for discovering this budding talent.
Pedro Mizutani – Aperana
Psycada – Hiking Lung
Psycada are an astoundingly heavy psychedelic rock band out of Athens, Greece. The band straddles the line between fuzz, prog and stoner rock perfectly.
Esplendor Geométrico – Compuesto de Hierro+
Esplendor Geométrico was Spain’s first major Industrial band. This album was recorded in 2002 while visiting Beijing, and has been out of print until recently. This latest edition adds four more tracks to this classic LP.
Say Sue Me 세이수미 – George & Janice / Don’t Follow Our Van
This is some of the most fun, poppy, Beatlesque music I’ve heard in a while. Say Sue Me 세이수미 hail from Busan, South Korea, yet I would have believed it if someone told me they were out of London or Liverpool. Well done, folks.
Dimitar Dodovski – Dérive
Norman Records does a far more in-depth job introducing the world to the music of North Macedonian composer Dimitar Dodovski a wee bit better than I could. From their promo sheet:
“”Dimitar Dodovski approaches his craft of granular synthesis from a melodic perspective at most definitely the warmer end of the drone spectrum. Opening track ‘I’ introduces, of all things, mallet-struck chimes amongst the digital layers. The mallets recur on the following track (‘II’), but only when you least expect them. Staccato synth rises from a mist-draped lake of sound, each milky chord change rung by a bell. Pixelated textures drop in, then out, then back into focus again as Dodovski deftly carries us along on his smooth, humid, watery journey. It’s a gradually, dreamily dissolving picture of serenity. Sounds to submerge yourself in. By track 4, handily entitled ‘IV (Soul)’ I am spellbound by such moments of beauty that I have stopped typing and words have totally evaded me. For several minutes. That’s really not a good thing for a reviewer — but it *is* a recommendation. So. There. Especially if you enjoyed Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Suzanne Ciani’s latest joint opus. The rest of the album is equally lush. Even the choral pads and New Age-isms of some of the sounds can’t detract from that. It’s so very tropical sounding, unhurried; I can imagine stop-motion photography of an orchid blooming afresh to each struck note. David Attenborough’s voice optional but not entirely unnecessary.” –Norman Records”
Zhaoze (沼澤) – No Answer Blowin’ in the Wind (没有答案风中飘)
If you can imagine 1969-era King Crimson played on Chinese traditional instruments and a more relaxed feel, you would have this new album by the Guangzho-based band Zhaoze. The music is definitely progressive, touching upon art-rock, but so solidly based in traditional Chinese music that one can call this a sound all its own.
Girma Yifrashewa – My Strong Will
Girma Yifrashewa is a graduate of the Yared School of Music in Addis Ababa, and continued his studies at the Sofia State Conservatory of Music in Bulgaria. This new work of his combines Ethiopian instrumentation with classical music, and it blends together quite well.
Bandcamp Friday
A lot of you, my friends, will be far too busy to read as it’s time for Bandcamp Friday. Go find something and enjoy. And if you happen to find something good enough to talk about, send me a link and I’ll be more than happy to listen to it.