Music You Need To Hear

Expand your taste in music. Based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Month: January 2026

Bethnal Greener – Πεδίο

Bethnal Greener is a band from Greece who do an admirable job of blending a mid-70’s-era Pink Floyd sound with vocals that would fit better in the post-punk/Bauhaus medium.  Relaxed music meant to trip out to.

Mujician – The Journey

Mujician was perhaps one of the greatest improvisational groups to come out of England, and this album shows them in peak form. The band consisted of clarinetist and saxophonist Paul Dunmall, backed by drummer Tony Levin (not the King Crimson…

Dou Wei; Chao Jian (竇唯;朝簡) – 安神符

Instrumentalists Dou Wei and Chao Jian are names I came across last year thanks to my former student Ben, who did me the honor of pointing me to their new album. The record features two long instrumental pieces that sound…

Layla Murad (ليلى مراد) – If My Heart Has Known Humiliation: Cairo Baidaphon Recordings ca. 1936-49

Canary Records continues its incredible run of reissues with Egyptian Jewish chanteuse Lalya Murad, whose music has been lovingly cleaned up by Ian Nagoski—sublime recordings from another era.

M. John Henry – Early Songs, Of Late

Somewhere on the borders of indie rock and folk music sits Scottish singer M. John Henry.  From his Bandcamp site: “…founder of the band De Rosa. Between 2006-2016 De Rosa released three critically acclaimed albums on the Chemikal Underground and Rock…

Dormance – II

Mahorka Records has added another unique gem to their 2026 collection with the release from the band Dormance. Their sound blends mechanical influences that evoke the early works of Frontline Assembly, early Depeche Mode, and artists from the respected Wax Trax! Records label.

Emmylou Harris – Stumble Into Grace

I rarely share a country album, but because it’s Emmylou Harris, I’m happy to make an exception.  She was the most remarkable (and stunningly beautiful) singer of the 1970s in my humble opinion, and though her black locks have gone…

Zao – Kawana

Magma alumni Yochk’o Seffer and François “Faton” Cahen recorded under the name Zao, producing an album that is at once progressive, zeuhl, and heavily influenced by Miles-era jazz fusion. Deep and dark, it also features Didier Lockwood on violin, Gérard Prévost and…

Toshiyuki Tsuchitori & Ryuichi Sakamoto – Disappointment / Hateruma

The void left by Ryuichi Sakamoto’s passing is far too immense to ever be filled.  One can hope for a reissue here and there, for some lost studio and live recordings to resurface, and for some demos and live tracks to…

Mother Mother – Hayloft I (Official Video)

It’s been years since I watched a relatively new music video. As someone old enough to remember when MTV first started (“Video Killed The Radio Star,” indeed…), I used to love the cheesiness of the early videos. Filmmakers, however, caught…