Vesna Pisarović – Poravna

What an album this is!  The mixing of Sevdah, one of Bosnia’s most melancholic and romantic forms of music, with free improvisation is not something I expected to work, but …

Tassos Chalkias – Divine Reeds

Radio Martiko usually does a fine job remastering old shellac recordings and making them sound vibrant.  This album by Tassos Chalkias is an incredible example.  From the release’s Bandcamp site: …

Mamer 马木尔 – Awlaⱪta / Afar 离

Mamer 马木尔 is perhaps my favorite underground artists operating in China today.  His work fuses Kazakh folk music with avant-garde music, bordering on experimental, even though he has a pedigree …

Philippe Neau – hORs SoLs

Our friends at Mahorka Records introduce us to yet another brilliant composer.  Phillippe Neau masterfully uses nature sounds to paint sonic ‘pictures’ that envelop the listener.  From the label’s Bandcamp …

Arbay Taraa – Arbay Taraa

I have a bit of catchup work to do with Russian releases which I plan to remedy over the next few weeks, and moreso once I move from China. Arbay …

Laibach – Alamut

This is the Laibach I grew up loving, taking a very different and radical direction in each new album.  The industrial music lounge act was growing irritating, but it might …