As today is my 52nd birthday, I thought I would take a walk down memory lane. Today is also the 35th anniversary of New Order’s first major collection album called Substance, which was released on this day in 1987. As it turns out, it was the first compact disc I ever bought, and though I …
Our friends at Parasounder Magazine out of Tehran offer a great introduction to jazz in Europe and Iran through their podcast, JazzBuzz. In this episode, you will hear some fine music, an interview with guitarist Ali Lotfi and more jazz notes, all in Farsi. I’m proud to support my friends and their music explorations.
This 7-inch two-track single is pure funky joy to listen to! Malaaz were a band out of Reunion Island, of all places, and is considered to be a solid funk gem. The backstory of the band is here, at their label, Babani Records’ Bandcamp site: “Malaaz was initiated by Patrick Donat, who is described as …
John Wall is Australia’s foremost experimental music composer. I had lost track of him many years ago, but it’s good to see that he is still composing bold music. From his Bandcamp site: “As with the previous Computer-Piano release these three compositions consist of piano recordings (that are not subject to any computer manipulations) and …
Eighth Tower Records never disappoints! Each compilation they put out is so well put-together that the themes fit the subject material perfectly! This one is, of course, no exception. It is a paean to H. P. Lovecraft, perhaps America’s foremost horror and science-fiction writers. At least to my taste, Lovecraft is second only to Edgar …
Read more “Various Artists – Nyarlathotep – A Tribute To Howard Phillips Lovecraft”
Though I’ve tagged it as contemporary classical music, as has the artist, the latest album by Aftab Darvishi is something more than that. It is classical music melded with regional music from Iran and electronics. A stunning album.
Baložu Pilni Pagalmi are a Latvian post-rock/folk band out of the capita city of Riga. What’s most interesting about this 37 minute-plus track is that it covers not only the genres mentioned, but it would be comfortable listed as an alternative/indie release. I like the fact that there is a story embedded in this album, …
This disc from Nubian pop songstress Alsarah & the Nubatones is a revelation in terms of East African music, the part of the continent which produces less aggressive, more sultry and sensuous music. The Soukura EP is filled with more time changes than a noodly prog rock album, and this makes sense, since Sudanese music …
We have an unsolicited gem today, folks! This live EP by Heelhooks clocks in at around 15 minutes, and the music is aggressive laptop sound deconstruction put together by the London-based duo of Hans Lo (Unk) and Rob Shields (Sunplus). The lads describe their sound way better than I can: “Initially starting as a pure …
Progressive rock was the genre that launched my journey into weird music, and it’s nice to delve into the genre now and again. If you’re going to listen to good prog, K-Space seem to be the label producing the best of the genre. A case in point is this stunning example from The Pineapple Thief. …