If you can imagine 1969-era King Crimson played on Chinese traditional instruments and a more relaxed feel, you would have this new album by the Guangzho-based band Zhaoze. The music is definitely progressive, touching upon art-rock, but so solidly based in traditional Chinese music that one can call this a Continue Reading
Rudy Carrera
Girma Yifrashewa – My Strong Will
Girma Yifrashewa is a graduate of the Yared School of Music in Addis Ababa, and continued his studies at the Sofia State Conservatory of Music in Bulgaria. This new work of his combines Ethiopian instrumentation with classical music, and it blends together quite well.
Bandcamp Friday
A lot of you, my friends, will be far too busy to read as it’s time for Bandcamp Friday. Go find something and enjoy. And if you happen to find something good enough to talk about, send me a link and I’ll be more than happy to listen to it.
Gianni Marchetti – Milano: Il Clan Dei Calabresi
Thanks to killer reissue labels like Four Flies Records out of Italy, we can experience the easy/cheesy listening sounds of 1970s Italian movie soundtracks. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Four Flies’ 45s series continues to pay tribute to the golden age of Italian film music, this time with the first Continue Reading
Rudy Bolo – Trenta Soldi d’Argento
Spanish record label Liquidator Music has just published a two-track 7-inch full of the most joyful ska I’ve heard in decades, courtesy of Italian ska legend Rude (performing here as Rudy Bolo), backed by a hammond-organ version as the B-side.
Evgeny Masloboev – Clay. Thirteen Contemplations on Matter
Clay is the topic of the latest Fancy Records release by composer Evgeny Masloboev. The topic, as described by the artist, is a fascinating one, tied in with some incredible contemporary classical music. From the Fancy Records Bandcamp site: “Clay is a living mystic. This is the ever-dancing childhood of Continue Reading
Nagat – Eyoun El Alb
Our favorite reissue label, Wewantsounds, offers yet another gem to one of the coolest catalogs around. This album comes from Egyptian diva Nagat, and it’s an example of a type of disco homegrown in Egypt – Disco Arabesquo – which combines the erstwhile dancing style of the 1970s with Arabic Continue Reading
Errol Brown – Orthodox Dub
Meaty, beaty dub is on offer here by Errol Brown (no, not the Hot Chocolate singer, but the sound engineer based out of Kingston, Jamaica) courtesy of Dub Store Records out of Tokyo, Japan. Those who know me well might figure out why I appreciate the title.
Kofi Ayivor – Adzagli (Jungle Funk)
Though Kofi Ayivor now lives in Amsterdam, there was a time where he was the disco king of Nigeria as well as a conga legend with Osibisa. The music here is what one can call proto-Afrobeat, proto-Nu Jazz, and it sounds so incredibly modern that I thought it was a Continue Reading
Kink Gong – Abdurehim Heyit Xinjiang China
Kink Gong have done stellar work documenting ethnic music from around China. This release covers the work of dotar player Abdurehim Heyit, an artist mired in controversy whose death was falsely reported several years ago.