This album is quite a revelation! Ofege, A group of hippies from Nigeria came together to record an absolutely solid disc full of tunes that sound less Afrobeat and more West Coast psych. A cool album, indeed.
Ofege – How Do You Feel
Gianni Oddi – Dreamin’ / Geronimo
Four Flies Records is an Italian label which “rescues golden age soundtracks from oblivion,” and we here are MYNTH are thankful for it! This release is a 7-inch record by Italian saxophonist Gianni Oddi (in Italian) which blends a grimy funk with easy/cheesy/sleazy listening grooves. This will definitely appeal to fans of library music as well as soundtracks.
Johanna Juhola – A Brighter Future
What a joyous release this is! Accordion-based music out of Finland is just what the doctor ordered for our chilly Beijing day. Johanna Juhola is one of many incredible artists on the Nordic Notes imprint who have blown my mind this year. Imagine a collection ranging from traditional music melded with progressive, jazz, and perhaps a pinch of tango thrown into the mix. One of 2023’s most charming releases.
Jonathan Sharp – Divided Time
Castles In Space are a label whom I just stumbled into over the past few days, and I’m liking what I’m hearing from them a lot. This particular piece of hauntology comes from Jonathan Sharp, a composer who is, like me, a child of the 70’s. He split his time between Cumbria and London, and the music reflects his memories of those years long gone by.
Deena Abdelwahed – Jbal Rrsas (جبل الرصاص)
Deena Abdelwahed is an artist and DJ who hails from Tunisia and cut her chops in the music in the capital of Tunis before relocating to Paris, France. Her sound is brutal, slow, mixing a nearly tribal Industrial sound with authentic music from her homeland. Brutiful, if I can beg your pardon and borrow this portmanteau to describe such heavy music.
post doom romance – prairie transmissions
Post Doom Romance presents a new album of some of the gentlest “noise” I’ve ever heard. The tones are low, sparse, and somehow calming. Perfect for cold-weather headphone listening.
Groove Paradise – BitterSweet
Magnificent funk/soul/R&B/AOR-influenced vaporwave from Groove Paradise from Spain. We’ve featured the lads before, and they continue to produce, slick, polished, mellow grooves.
Valerio Cosi – The Aqueduct Walk
Valerio Cosi is an Italian composer I’ve had the pleasure of following for many years online, but this is the first time in a while that I have seen his work commercially available. It is a fine example of musique concrète, and is active enough to keep you engaged throughout it’s 30 minutes in length.
Various Artists – Magnificent Sounds Records: A Chant About the Beauty of the Moon at Night: Hawaiian Steel Guitar Masters 1913-1921
Magnificent Sounds Records is a record label out of Buffalo, New York, and they specialize in rare archival recordings and remastering music from a century ago in a lot of cases. From this magnificent compilation of Hawaiian music, you can read the promo quote on the label’s Bandcamp site.
“A collection of rare original recordings, unheard for over a century, of captivating Hawaiian steel guitar music that influenced the first generation of Delta blues and country artists, changing the sound of music forever. Ghostly transmissions from paradise, beamed across time from a lost century, carefully remastered and restored with extensive historical notes & rare photos. Most tracks have been unissued in any format since their original release over 100 years ago.”
Disen Gage, Alexei Borisov, Misha ‘MOX’ Salnikov, Eugene Voronovsky – Bionika
Russian experimental band Disen Gage have collaborated with some of the country’s most notorious experimental musicians. Alexei Borisov, for instance, has been featured on these pages before. MOX and Voronovsky are new names. The music is an impressive mix of early-era Tuxedomoon-influenced music supported by a avant-prog bass, drums and guitar. Experimental enough to be weird, but structured enough to be familiar to the ears.