Benin (formerly Dahomey) has produced so much good music, yet it’s suffered from a lack of availability in the West, meaning that only the most expert crate-diggers or West African music specialists were able to enjoy these artists. Thankfully, Analog Africa has been doing their best to make sure this Continue Reading
Rudy Carrera
Blogger, label owner, record store buyer and all around charming lad who loves to share music with one and all.
Fontän – Svett / Bekçi
Sweden’s Höga Nord Rekords always produces some from psychedelic rock, but this 7-inch singe from Fontän is a kraut-y scorcher. Fontän hail from Gothenburg, the home of the label, and they produce two solid slabs of fine psychedelic fuzz with a gently grooving drum beat, dubby bass, loads of echo Continue Reading
Various Artists – Wounds of Love: Khmer Oldies, Vol. 2
Death Is Not The End is a profoundly interesting record label (and radio program on NTS) operating out of London, and how they find such oddball gems like this I’ll never understand. What is clear, though, is that the Khmer music scene really got into music from France (from colonial Continue Reading
James Ross / Jim Goodin / Joseph Benzola – Ross Drone: 2nd February 2014
Joseph Benzola is an electroacoustic composer, drummer and percussionist whose work I had the pleasure of reviewing on my old blog, but it’s time to catch up on his work. He has been joined by James Ross, who composed this 33-minute track and plays guitar and electronics, and Jim Goodin, Continue Reading
Jeff Gburek – Works Within the Upright Ruins of the Kaszubian Piano, 2015/2021
Our first review on returning to Brno is a burner, naturally. Our friend, man of the world, and experimental music composer Jeff Gburek comes by these pages again with a droning masterpiece. This is not the ordinary drone you hear reviewed on these pages, though, truth be told, nothing I Continue Reading
Jerry Jones – Jerry Jones at the Hotel Kingston
According to the legendary Studio One Records Bandcamp site, “Geraldine “Jerry” Jones arrived in Kingston in May of 1970 to perform at the Miss Jamaica International Model Pageant held at the Hotel Kingston. She would also appear at the House of Chen, VIP Club, Hotel Flamingo, Runaway Bay Hotel and Continue Reading
Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen – The Bass in the Background
Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen was a phenomenal jazz bassist originally out of Roskilde, Denmark. He was good enough to be drafted by Count Basie’s touring band but had to reject it due to age restrictions. Imagine working with pianists like Kenny Drew, Tete Montoliu, Lee Konitz, Dexter Gordon, Palle Mikkelborg, Continue Reading
Various Artists – Canary Records: To What Strange Place: The Music of the Ottoman-American Diaspora, 1916-30
Ian Nagoski’s stunningly and consistently impressive Canary Records releases a giant collection of songs from immigrants of the, by then, collapsing Ottoman Empire. These songs span the time period between the First World War and the Great Depression, and are lovingly transferred and curated by Nagoski, whom you can hear Continue Reading
Merema – Kezeren Koiht (Ancient Custom)
Out beloved friends at CPL-Music have released another fascinating album of Russian folk music! Merema hail from Saransk, which is the capital of Russia’s autonomous Republic of Mordovia. The music is beautifully documented by CPL Records and the documentary work of professor Ekaterina Modina. The tones of the voices are Continue Reading
Bester Quartet – Piazzolla Angels
Poland’s For-Tune Records have been consistently releasing high-quality jazz and improv music for some time now, but their latest has a special place for me. This collection, with the exception of Por Una Cabeza (composed by Carlos Gardel) was composed by the inimitable Ástor Piazzólla and arranged Bester Quartet leader Continue Reading