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    Divanhana – Ćilim

    January 19, 2022 - By 

    Our dear friends and CPL-Musik stun us again with a popping single!  Some info from the band’s Bandcamp site: Divanhana is a Bosnian sevdah band which performs traditional music in new arrangements created under the influence of jazz, pop and the 20th century classical music. Divanhana’s intention is to cherish and present the urban traditional music not only from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also the traditional music from the whole Balkan region, with a particular accent to Sevdalinka. The music is far more energetic, though less sultry, than a lot of Sevdalinka I’ve heard previously, but it’s a joyful listen. You…

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    Nigar Marjanova (Ника Марджанова) – Summertime

    January 18, 2022 - By 

    Now and again I stumble onto something pleasant, even if there is no CD or download available (yet) of the artist’s music.  Nigar Marjanova (see her Youtube channel here) is a jazz singer out of Baku, Azerbaijan, a country known for producing some rather fine musicians (think of Vagif Mustafazade and his daughter, Aziza).  I like that her voice is incredibly relaxing, a pleasure to hear.  If she has the opportunity to produce a proper album in the future, we’ll be happy to share it.

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    Cergy-Pontoise – CP01

    January 17, 2022 - By 

    This is a curious release.  Cergy-Pontoise are an Italian duo, and their albim starts out with drone-y ambient sounds but then falls into atmospheric progressive-folk at times, sounding like a better recorded lo-fi artist out of New Zealand, perhaps.  There are also elements of space rock, prog and psychedelic music in this.  It’s a mixed bag in the positive sense of the word.

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    Esmez – Drifting

    January 16, 2022 - By 

    From July of 2021 we have a release from the French ambient project Esmez.  The gentle, dulcet sounds of each of these four tracks have made for very pleasant Sunday listening, and would really appeal to fans of Brian Eno’s earlier ambient works. For Esmez’s motivations on making the album, consider visiting their Bandcamp site.

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    Atli Örvarsson – Wolka

    January 15, 2022 - By 

    Iceland is one of those countries who seem to produce musicians at an incredible rate in comparison to the size of its population.  Atli Örvarsson is one of a handful of gifted soundtrack composers to hail from the island nation, and is the first one I can think of who doesn’t originally come from the capital, Reykjavik.  He is now a Los Angelino pursuing a career in composition, and is becoming well-known for his scores. The standout track for me on this album is one titled Anka & Robert, which reminds me of a meaty slab of post-Industrial ambient.  The…

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    Jeff Gburek + George Christian – Thrown Extremes

    January 14, 2022 - By 

    During the next few weeks, I’ll be catching up on releases I could not get to in 2021.  This one is really a gem that I’m surprised I didn’t get to earlier, but thanks to Jeff Gburek reminding me of it, I can happily present this release he did in collaboration with another one of the blog’s dear friends, George Christian. The two tracks which go under the name The Charles Ives Observatory (Parts 1 and 2) bookend the centerpiece of the album, the 28-minute opus Magellanic Clouds.  The CIO tracks have the feeling of classic-era electroacoustic music imbued with…

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    Balkan Taksim – Disko Telegraf

    January 13, 2022 - By 

    This gem, released by Buda Musique, came out on May of 2021, and it’s simmering! From the label’s Bandcamp site: Balkan Taksim is the corduroy-clad brainchild of Bucharest-based multi-instrumentalist/artist Sașa-Liviu Stoianovici who, along with his electronica producer companion Alin Zăbrăuțeanu, is on a quest to inform, educate and entertain audiences around the globe about Balkan psych, roots and grooves. The project started by searching for something to link the sense of what has been with what will be. Sașa’s exploration of traditional music of the Balkans, ancient Romanian music and Slavic cultures led him to travel a lot through the…

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    Dorota Barová – Dotyk

    January 12, 2022 - By 

    Czech vocalist and cellist Dorota Barová is a new name for me, but her rather glorious voice brings up memories of Portuguese singers like Teresa Salgueiro, who you might remember as the lead singer of Madredeus.  Barovà has had an impressive career, as her first album, the award-winning debut “Iluzja” (Anděl Award), propelled her to fame in the Czech indie music scene.  Her sophomore release, Dotyk (Touch), brings a collection of new songs and lyrics authored by Barová, which she recorded in trio with guitarist Miroslav Chyška (member of Illustratosphere, J.A.R. and Sexy Dancers) and bass guitarist Miloš Klápště (known…

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    Ernesto Diaz-Infante – Saca Los Cuernos al Sol

    January 11, 2022 - By 

    My fellow Californian Ernesto Diaz-Infante provides us with a warm, shimmering work of nine instrumental pieces composed solely for guitar.  Each track is warm, not only by experimental music standards, but in terms of pure music listening.  My particular favorite was IV, which reminded me of a hybrid between John Fahey and Roy Montgomery playing while immersed in a silvery pool of water well outside this realm.  It made for a very pleasant listening experience. For a hard copy of this release, go to Headlights Recordings.

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    Various Artists – Remain Alone (A Disciples Compilation)

    January 10, 2022 - By 

    Many years ago, I was enthralled with the music of 4AD artist His Name Is Alive, but lost track of what they were doing.  That’s a shame, as Warren Defever has continued to be involved in great music, and this one has to be one of the most interesting I’ve seen in a while, as it’s a paean to Roky Erickson and The Thirteenth Floor Elevators. Defever isn’t the only star on this compilation, however.  Also featured are Phew (best known for her work with Can in the West) and Model Home, a band out of Washington, D.C., who left…