We have another elegant experimental/electroacoustic album by violinist Karolina Ossowska and her partner in this release, Jeff Gburek. There is a Nurse With Wound-meets-György Ligeti vibe to this release, maybe even references to Krzysztof Penderecki’s earlier avant-garde works, but given a gritty, ghostly treatment. Another glorious release.
Today is a ceremony day at the school, so there will be no reviews. Enjoy Tinariwen in our stead!
Don’t let anyone ever tell you differently. Ministry, Front 242, Frontline Assembly, as much as I love all of those bands, are NOT Industrial music in its purest form, nor are any of the ghastly ‘industrial metal’ bands. Only Throbbing Gristle and associated bands, such as SPK, early Cabaret Voltaire and Monte Cazazza are among the handful of bands who deserve that monicker. This is a classic release from the late 1970s which scared the hell out of a lot of listeners and opened the door to lots of imitators. Lower the volume a bit and adjust yourselves for an anti-music(k) experience.
Our old friend George Christian has released a two-track album for Post Orientalism Music out of Berlin, Germany. Though some will bill this as experimental, I hear more of a wild psych-influenced space rock mixed together guitar improvisations that works wonderfully well. It is best to let George tell the story, the rest of which you can read at his Bandcamp release site:
“This recording was made under painfully difficult circumstances. In July 7th, my mother was hospitalized and, for a month, she fought a long battle against her second hemorrhagic stroke and pneumonia, that affected her lungs and kidneys and ultimately caused her death in August 8th, 2024. Two days before my birthday. And from July 6th to September 13th, my retuning to my latest girlfriend represented one of my most unnerving moments of my life, in spite of some moments of relief. That’s backstory of the whole album.
However, while the first track portrays the sadness after the departure of my mother, the second (recorded while my mother was at the hospital) is my wish of surpassing the adversities in spite of the challenges. So, this musical work is my way to not only portray how much such circumstances affected my spirit, but also tell musically of my own Arabic inheritance, that came mainly from my mother.
Well, the music is not compromised to such complex backstory. It’s a spiritual awakening in the shape of instrumental music, after all. I’m still missing her and crying silently for her, but I’m learning to survive that. She was the woman that was my first true love.
Among other things, she was a medium that channeled the gypsy that lived inside her in order to help several people. And she’s the real reason why I’m in the musical world. I am the musician that I am today thanks to her. In spite of the fact that she wasn’t a musician, she was from a family that had musical (and Gypsy) linkages. And the gypsy in her still dancing within myself…”
Que sua memória seja eterna, Dona Margarida.
This is the second Reverse Image album we have had the pleasure to review (you can read the first one here).
Whereas the first album was more experimental in nature, this one continues on that vein, has has an even more sophisticated take on electroacoustic music sitting well inside an ambient music paradigm. There are drones in places, but the calm is shaken up frequently, making for an invigorating listen.
The Resian Folk Group were from the Resia Valley in the Italian Alps. What sets them apart from their countrymen are their folk traditions and language, which seem to have a strong Slovene influence. Canary Records does their usual outstanding job remastering this collection. It sounds absolutely gorgeous considering the age of these recordings.
One of the greatest of the new wave bands, Tears For Fears return with an album bearing four new tracks and many live versions of their hits.
Ukraine has always been a rich vein when it comes to music. Our friends at Light In The Attic Records have put together one of the best introductions to Soviet folk, disco, rock and alternative music to come out of Ukraine during their musical 70’s, 80’s and partially, the 90’s. A worth comp.
From the Bandcamp site:
“Guess-again shapeshifter Al Wootton continues a fertile streak of releases for ZamZam, Livity and his own Trule label, as well as an acclaimed collab with Susumu Mukai and Valentina Magaletti as Holy Tongue, on a killer new album for Berceuse Heroique’s tape series, a screwed navigation of mood pieces and hypnotic club inversions primed for the low lights.”
I’m more than pleased to announce a new recording by my online friend, Joe Benzola. It’s quite sparse and minimalist, perhaps even Cageian, mixing piano and percussion, and it requires you to pay attention. What can I say other than, “Well done!”?