The Chills – Scatterbrain / Scatterbrain-Storms: Outtakes
We have two releases today to share with you. Both come from New Zealand’s greatest indie rock band, The Chills, and at least to my ears, should be seen as one cohesive session. The first, Scatterbrain, came out in September…
Yukihiro Takahashi – Drip Dry Eyes (R.I.P.)
The eyes in this house aren’t very dry at the moment. We lost yet another legend today. This time, it was the shocking, though not unexpected, passing of drummer and composer Yuki Takahashi, who made his fame as drummer and…
Sieben – Ten Hymns for Modern Times
I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Howden, the mighty Sieben himself, while tour-managing for Sol Invictus in 2000. His violin playing added an otherworldly element to the music, and he was embarking on his solo career at that point. …
Raïna Raï (راينا راي) – Hagda (هكدا)
A new name for me to enjoy! Raïna Raï are (were?) a band from Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria who gained a massive following with this album, released in 1982. On the 40th anniversary of its release, the album, lovingly curated…
Cabaret Voltaire – Dekadrone
With the passing of Richard H. Kirk last year and Stephen Mallinder keeping himself busy with his own projects, Cabaret Voltaire will be no more. This final album, basically with Kirk alone programming the music, is a fifty-minute track that…
Shopworn – How Could Children Disturb Internet Dialoguè?
I haven’t heard anyone do an album in a plunderphonics style in some time now. Stanislav Aladev, who composes under the name Shopworn, is a Russian musician who has released one of the most charmingly weird albums I’ve heard this…
Various Artists – Nordic Notes – CPL-Music 2022
Our friends at CPL Music and Nordic Notes had another banner years for releases in the genre of World Music. The sampler includes tracks from the Balkans, Scandinavia and Asia among other locales, and it’s a great way to taste…
Zhaoze – The Life of a Dayfly | 蜉生记
I suppose one can call this post-rock with Chinese characteristics. Zhaoze are a progressive rock/post-rock band out of Guangzhou, China, and this is the first I’ve heard of them. Their sound is mellow, almost dramatic in a TV-theme way, yet…
handwrist – The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
As we celebrate Christmas on the Julian Calendar this day, I thought it nice to share with you an album I found from a Portuguese composer called handwrist, working in the medium of psychedelic, progressive and drone rock, perhaps with…
The Hilliard Ensemble – Codex Speciálník
Your browser does not support iframes. According to Wikipedia, “…the Speciálník Codex (CZ-HKm MS II.A.7) is a 15th-century speciálník (i.e. special songbook) originating from a monastery in the region of Prague.” It is considered something of a ‘missing link’ between medieval and Renaissance music…