Russia has a pretty remarkable history with jazz. Even during the Soviet times, everything from Dixieland to hard bop was represented rather well, and free jazz is no exception. Der Finger are the trio of Anton Efimov (bass), Evgenia Sivkova (drums & saxophone) and Edward Sivkov (bass clarinet, saxophone and bass-domra). They make a racket (and that is meant in a good way) that is indeed free and open, and almost borders on Industrial music in parts. Good listening.
Because this isn’t a Bandcamp release, and because I should be exploring more sites so that readers can enjoy an ever-widening array of music, I am happy to offer for your ears a track by Berlin-based composer (and an alum from the Musician’s Institute in my home town of Los Angeles), Rettward von Doernberg. Though the headline in his webpage had me a bit worried, reading “Indian, Chinese, Electronica and Orchestra: Four Musical Traditions – One Piece of Music,” it turns out that Rettward has the skill to blend these traditions into a quite workable piece of music. I do…
Our beloved comrade in World Music, Christian Pliefke, releases another gem on his label CPL Music. This new release by the band ShooDja-ChoDja from comes from the region of Udmurtia, populated by people of Finno-Ugric stock, and having traditions far different from their fellow Russian citizens. The music is played on a mix of traditional and modern instruments, with complex vocal harmonies throughout. Of particular interest to me was the track entitled Krez, which sounded like a mournful dirge. A bit heartbreaking in parts, but beautiful in its own way. I’m sure ShooDja-ChoDja must be phenomenal to see live.
Relative Pitch Records is making a great case for becoming a favorite label of mine. There are so many great releases covering the best of improvisational and free music that I’ll probably go broke trying to purchase all of them. It’s fitting to make my first review that of avant-harpist Zeena Parkins, whose work should need no introduction to the initiated, but for those new to her work, she recorded on labels such as John Zorn’s Tzadik Records and No Man’s Land, a German improv label best known to American and British audiences thanks to their distributor, Recommended Records, who…
Compost Records have released two exquisite CDs covering the best of downtempo electronica. Familiar names include A Forest Mighty Black (featuring Rainer Trüby) , Peter Kruder (of Kruder & Dorfmeister), Funkstörung and Minus 8. These comps cover a lot of ground and show the depth and diversity of the label.
This was a happy surprise. Manne Skafvenstedt is a Swedish pianist, composer and producer who works in the fields of jazz, ambient, electronics and sound design. His latest album, Archway, is a calming experience. There is a sort of sweetness to this music, where the listener actually feels good enjoying these sounds. It’s not the sugary nonsense one hears in lower quality New Age or modern ambient music. This resonates, and it might be because he is also a professional sound designer while he’s not busy composing. I have no doubt that those who enjoy the works of Robert Rich,…
Combining surf rock, garage rock, touches of psych and having a generally lo-fi vibe to it, Mexico City’s Secret Agent combine a couple of cool instrumentals with two sung tracks, including the title track, Mata Hari, featuring Vince Montes Rivera, which you can listen to below:
Neon Noodle mixes lo-fi noise with what sounds like horror soundtracks, touches of vaporwave and a bass line that reminds me of something one could hear out of an early 80s garage post-punk or experimental cassette demo. It’s crunchy, but interesting. I’d like to see how Neon Noodle develop as time passes.
Bassist Daniel Casimir is a young lion of London’s jazz scene. This is a one-off composition in preparation for a full album coming out later this year on Jazz re:freshed, and it features some of the best instrumentalists active today. Observe the names on this track. Each is leaving a huge mark on music these days, and will be lauded for decades. Quintet Daniel Casimir Moses Boyd Al Macsween Nubya Garcia James Copus Brass Sean Gibbs Tom Dunnet Rosie Turton Andy Davies Woodwind Faye MacCalman Samuel Rapley Gareth Lockrane Strings Julia Dos Reis Miranda Lewis Rebekah Reid Rhiannon Dimond
This has to be one of the most charmingly weird, frankly unclassifiable discs I’ve heard in a while. Andrew Paine & Richard Youngs manage to pull together a collection that should sound like a mess, yet it’s a rather enjoyable one. The music goes from lo-fi disco tracks (which for some reason, remind me heavily of the ur-supergroup Big In Japan) to outtakes from a later-era David Bowie session. This is a gritty gem of a disc. The only shame is that it took me six years to come across it.