• Music

    Clara Engel – A New Skin

    March 18, 2021 - By 

    Clara Engel is based in Toronto, Canada.  Her work has been described as “Folk-Noir” or “minimalist holy blues,” and who am I to disagree?  This takes the best elements of neofolk, stripped-down to just voice, cigar box guitar, electric guitar, melodica and harmonica, and it sounds like a rare self-pressed release worth thousands one could find on eBay, but living up to the hype. Clara’s voice is a perfect match for the ethereal music supporting it.  I have a feeling those who like the folkier elements of Current 93, Nick Drake, Shirley Collins and 70’s progressive folk are going to find…

  • Music - Youtube

    Ceoltóirí Chualann – Ríl Mhór Bhaile an Chalaidh

    March 17, 2021 - By 

    Today is Saint Patrick’s Day for Western Christians, and is also celebrated by my fellow Orthodox, though his feast day on the Julian Calender is March 30. I thought I would share a bit of Irish music, but something not so common. I’m sure a great many of you know the work of Ireland’s third-most famous export (after Guinness Beer and U2), The Chieftains. They have toured the world bringing Celtic music to the masses, even making a legendary appearance at the Great Wall of China in 1983. The band got their start after the members of the above band, led…

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    Hideki Umezawa & Andrew Pekler – Two Views Of Amami Oshima

    March 16, 2021 - By 

    Electroacoustic music inspired by painting and field recordings done in the Ryuku Islands off the coast of the Japanese mainland.  This definitely caught my attention.  Edições CN out of Antwerp, Belgium released this album in 2020, and it features the works of Japanese composer Hideki Umezawa and the Samarkand, Uzbekistan born resident of Berlin, Andrew Pekler. The back story of this release comes to us from their Bandcamp site: In 1958 the painter Isson Tanaka (°22 July 1908 – *11 September 1977) moved to Amami Ōshima, an island in the Ryukyus. There, in self-chosen isolation, he committed himself exclusively to…

  • Music

    Steven Severin – 23 Wounds of Julius Caesar

    March 15, 2021 - By 

    Today is the Ides of March, once a day of celebration during Rome’s peak (and a deadline for settling debts), now remembered as the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar.  Former Siouxsie & The Banshees bassist Steven Severin makes available his ambient experimental work commemorating the event.

  • Music

    Various Artists – Can You Feel It? Vol​.​2 Modern Soul, Disco & Boogie 1976​-​​84

    March 14, 2021 - By 

    Tramp Records out of German is gaining quite a following because of their high-quality compilations.  This one is a scorcher if you’re into funk-inflected disco.  At least as I understand it, and I’m sure the label can correct any errors I make, the artists were from around the Akron, Ohio area, and it does blow my mind a bit that these artists weren’t bigger names in the 1970s.  The music is a bit more lo-fi than the slicker top-40 fare of the day, but the bass grooves so hard in most of these tracks that it makes you forget that…

  • Music

    Rafał Mazur & Satoko Fujii, Guillermo Gregorio, Natsuki Tamura, Artur Majewski, Ramon Lopez – The Great Tone has no Sound

    March 13, 2021 - By 

    Though I cannot say I know much about Fundacja Słuchaj’s background, I can say that their releases tend to be excellent, releasing some of the bigger names in improvisational music.  This collection is no different. The personnel on this four-disc set is pretty phenomenal: Rafał Mazur plays bass, Satoko Fujii plays piano, Guillermo Gregorio wields the saxophone, Natsuki Tamura and Artur Majewski perform on trumpet and Ramón López fills out this group on drums and percussion.

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    Toronja – QuedarseIrMorirEgo

    March 12, 2021 - By 

    This one-track release was in my queue while I was doing some work, and when it came on, I assumed it was a track of Spanish cold wave from the early 1980s.  Toronja, as it turns out, is a Chilean project from this year, and they manage to do a good job making a sound that is at once fresh and vintage.

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    Tarah Who? – Manners

    March 12, 2021 - By 

    Los Angeles produces scores of great rock bands, and has since before I was born.  Tara Who? continue the tradition of mixing elements of straight-ahead rock, punk, and the kind of metal that seems to only come from the area of the city near venues like The Roxy or bars like The Rainbow.  Pretty solid stuff. From their promo bio: Los Angeles, CA. – Tarah Who? is back with “Manners” February 19, 2021, the follow-up single and video to their eruptive song, “Swallow That Pill”. The L.A. based firebrand frontwoman, Tarah G. Carpenter (vocals/guitar) and Corale Hervé (drums/backing vocals), complete this duo who have carefully crafted songs…

  • Music

    JOHN 3:16 – Tempus Edax Rerum

    March 12, 2021 - By 

    Our friends JOHN 3:16 come at us with less an audible listening experience than a sheer sonic pummeling.  Take for example Part I, which sounds as though the ghost of Cop/Greed-era Swans was under more control, a more musically apt, and put through the gothic/post-punk music grinder.  Part IV goes into something more ethereal, dark, something between a horror movie and spaghetti-western soundtrack, with vocals provided by Caroline O’Neill / Rasplyn.  The band always impress, but I wasn’t quite ready for this one.  A very pleasant surprise, indeed.

  • Music

    Damir Imamović’s Sevdah Takht – Dvojka

    March 11, 2021 - By 

    It is a shame to think that when the words Bosnia, Herzegovina or Sarajevo are mentioned, most think only of the ugly breakup of the former Yugoslavia.  It’s a crime, as the country, and especially her capital, have so much to offer.  The people, the food, the incredible culture, so complex and rich, yet one forgets that Bosnia is a European country. Be that as it may, Sarajevo musicians continue to produce its most famous export – sevdah – the bluesy Balkan style that could be compared favorably to Portugal’s fado.  It’s music rich with pain, pathos and rich voices.…