From Muriel Grossman’s Bandcamp site: “On the surface, Tyner and the Dead appear to come from different galaxies. But listen deeply, and it becomes clear: they were orbiting the same planet. Tyner’s playing was all about shape. He built modal infrastructure—riffs and voicings sturdy enough to ground the music, malleable Continue Reading
HJ Ayala – Wesserling En Direct
It’s wonderful to welcome back an old friend of the blog, Hector Javier Ayala, a guitarist hailing from Mexico and living in France. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this is a very song-focused album, featuring a couple of genuinely Mexican guitar tunes and the beautiful jazz classic, Days Continue Reading
Kaleikia – Makali
Some heavy progressive rock from Galicia, one of my paternal ancestral homelands: “Makali (from the Bubi Makálé/Makòlé) was a drill born free in the jungles of Bioko, in Equatorial Guinea. He was captured by humans and sold to Galician sailors who took him to Meaño. There he lived with his Continue Reading
Francesca Marongiu – Still Forms in Air
Mexican record label Umor Rex has released an album by Italian composer Francesca Marongiu, which is heavily influenced by some spectacular Japanese New Age/Ambient releases from the mid-1980s. This was a wonderful time for ambient music in Japan, and Francesca captures the spirit perfectly while adding her own spin.
Alphaxone – ARCHIPENOM.II
From the Alphaxone Bandcamp site: “A continuation of fractured atmospheres, slow-moving tension, and submerged emotional weight. This chapter dives deeper into erosion, distance, and the quiet violence of time.” Iranian artists could use a hand at the moment, as do all good souls suffering in their war-torn homes.