• Music

    Siavash Amini & Eugene Thacker – Songs for Sad Poets

    September 26, 2022 - By 

    Siavash Amini, an Iranian sound artist and composer, collaborates on this album with author and poet Eugene Thacker on Songs for Sad Poets, though I hear no vocals on this disc.  What is on offer, however, are incredibly bleak soundscapes that range from engaging dark ambient music which settles well in headphones to abrasive post-Industrial music which tears at the eardrums in a most pleasant way.  From the pair’s Bandcamp site for this release: The collection of eight pieces draws its inspiration from the legacy of the so-called cursed poets (»poètes maudits«) as well as the German-language tradition of song…

  • Music

    György Kurtág – Signs, Games and Messages (mode230)

    September 25, 2022 - By 

    Yesterday, I had the pleasure of going out to the picturesque town of Szentendre, about 35 minutes outside of Budapest, with my girlfriend and some fine old friends.  I expected a nice trip, and instead, we not only have that but we were treated to seeing several galleries, bookstores, and a performance space which featured graphic artist Yorgos Tzortzoglu, a local artist of Greek descent.  His exhibit featured scores from Hungarian composer György Kurtág, and lo and behold, he was in attendance!  Though he is 96 now, Kurtág looked in pretty good condition, and had a smile on his face…

  • Music

    MAiKA – Balkannibalism

    September 24, 2022 - By 

    In a land of amazing bands and ensembles, MAiKA have managed to forcefully grab my attention.  While they call themselves an alternative dance-punk band, there’s so much more to the music.  The energy is amazing, the voices cut right through you in a way that most indie music can’t, and the fact that they combine brass band music with punk gives the music an authentic, punchy feel. From their Bandcamp site: “From the perspective (both musical and visual) of MAiKA, Balkan is an absurd mix of contrasts: religion and tradition combined with modern technology, natural beauty with destructive politics, mud with…

  • Music

    Inkswel & Colonel Red – Holders Of The Sun, Vol. 1

    September 23, 2022 - By 

    Inkswel & Colonel Red hail from Australia and the United Kingdom respectively, but have been writing music together for over 10 years.  They blend a pretty heady mix of funk, soul, hip-hop and a touch of acid jazz in their stew, and the tracks on this upcoming dish are both enjoyable listening to deep music fans and those looking for more radio-friendly pop hooks.  The track Save Ya Self is the jewel of the album, being a timeless percussion-heavy dance track that would get people moving no matter the year. For those of you who need an introduction to both…

  • Music

    Brian Auger – Auger Incorporated

    September 22, 2022 - By 

    Brian Auger is the father of Acid Jazz and really needs no introduction, but his Bandcamp site provides a fine one anyway for those of you readers who haven’t had the pleasure of being introduced to the man: “Soul Bank Music announces a back catalogue deal with legendary musician and jazz keyboard master Brian Auger – with the release of a career spanning compilation ‘Auger Incorporated’. Lauded and loved by artists as diverse as Mose Allison to The Brand New Heavies, his tracks have been sampled by Mos Def, Common, Air and Kid Loco, his original compositions covered by Sarah…

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    Biensüre – Biensüre

    September 21, 2022 - By 

    We at MYNTH are elated that our friends at WeWantSounds have another spicy platter on offer from their label. This one comes to us from the Marseille-based band Biensüre. From the label’s press release: Biensüre’s influences are varied and transcend generations and borders. Ranging from the Anatolian pop scene of the 70s and 80s with key figures like Erkin Koray and Barış Manço to 70s Jazz, Disco and early electro, their music is at the intersection of several musical continents. Obviously, Hakan’s close connection to traditional Kurdish music is at the heart of the group’s music, embraced by all the other…

  • Music

    Yanna Momina – Afar Ways

    September 20, 2022 - By 

    Our friends at Xango Music reminded us about a profoundly interesting album released by Glitterhouse Records out of Germany.  The artist, Yanna Momina, is from Djibouti, a country which very rarely gets any sort of press attention outside of military news (and the fact that it is now one of the most expensive places in the world despite the crushing poverty the average person suffers from.  You can hear the pain in her voice as she sings and wails about with the most minimal of musical backings, as she is accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, calabash and sparse handclaps. …

  • Music

    Anna Homler – Breadwoman & Other Tales

    September 19, 2022 - By 

    There are few experimental artists I hold a loving reverance for in the way I do for Anna Homler.  I had the pleasure of meeting and befriending her during the 1990s, and I had the distinct joy of seeing her again when Maja Ratkje performed in Los Angeles several years ago.  Breadwoman is one of her performance art creations, “a being who exists outside of time, yet surfaced on tape during the perfect storm of performance art, renegade DIY avant-garde, gallery culture, and esoteric mysticism of early 80s Los Angeles.” This was the first collaboration on cassette between Anna and…

  • Music - Music Articles

    [The Soundtrack Of My Life] If ~ Live at the BBC

    September 18, 2022 - By 

    No reviews today as my girlfriend and I will be walking around the Buda area in Budapest, but I’d like to introduce you to Adam Baruch, an exceptionally gifted writer who I have been following for many years.  He has a gift for writing eloquently about jazz and rock, is a director of the Singer Jazz Festival, and on this post, he writes about the legendary jazz-rock/brass-rock band If.  He is worth following, and if you like what you read, consider joining his Facebook group.

  • Music

    Ansambl Mileta Petrovića – Veseli Romi

    September 17, 2022 - By 

    The Ansambl Mileta Petrovića were a band out of the former Yugoslavia (namely, the area of Niš, Serbia) who were around from the early 1980s until around 1991, before the erstwhile Communist union fell apart and hell broke out everywhere.  Radio Martiko document some of their finer moments on this album.