As Cabaret Voltaire’s two surviving members, Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson, who has been absent from the band for decades, are performing together for the first time in years, I thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce readers to the band’s earliest works. These recordings come from a Continue Reading
Music
El Mahdy Jr. – Raï Dubs
Brutal dub from Algeria! From El Mahdy Jr.’s Bandcamp site: “RAÏ DUBS! This is a collaborative release featuring El Mahdy Jr, Gulls, XJ, and Alter Echo. Beginning with a shared love of old school Algerian Raï music and audio deconstruction, we sampled several Raï classics from cassettes and YouTube rips, Continue Reading
øjeRum – Cut Paper Flowers
From LINE Records’ Bandcamp site: “øjeRum is Copenhagen-based musician and visual artist Paw Grabowski. With releases spanning labels such as Room40, Quiet Details, LINE, Opal Tapes and many more, øjeRum has an extensive back catalogue of albums all exploring a minimal, emotive, and deeply textural style.”
Salem 66 – Down The Primrose Path
Life in the 1980s and early 1990s was filled with music. My brother and I were enthusiastic listeners of alternative music radio, especially the commercial station KROQ, the biggest indie radio station in the Los Angeles area. However, the college radio stations were, by far, much better, as they offered Continue Reading
Various Artists – Golpea Tu Cerebro: Spanish Underground Cassette Culture, 1980 – 1988
From the release’s Bandcamp site: ““Golpea Tu Cerebro” (“Shake Your Brain”) is the first ever vinyl compilation dedicated to the unknown yet fascinating Spanish underground cassette scene from the ’80s. In the early 80s, with few resources but unlimited imagination, youngsters all across Spain started recording at home their experimental, Continue Reading
Sai – Though We Meet But Once
Mahorka Records normally releases bleakly dark ambient and experimental records, so this album by Sai comes as a bit of a pleasant shock. This is far more closer to progressive rock, math-rock and progressive metal than anything I’ve heard in their esteemed back catalog, and it’s as good as one Continue Reading
Lao Dan (老丹) – 逐雲追夢 Going After Clouds and Dreams
Lao Dan is one of the most interesting improv artists operating in China at the moment. This release comes from Modern Sky World Music, based in my current home, Beijing. Going through their catalog, there is going to be more than a few releases getting featured on the blog soon Continue Reading
Tempvs Fvgit… – Da Caminu
Our beloved Masha at Tejo Music has sent over one of the most majestic choral music I’ve indulged in in some time. Tempvs Fvgit hail from France, and their sound reinvigorates the choral tradition from Corsica, famous for this sound. The recording is stunning and clear, sounds powerful on headphones Continue Reading
JOHN 3:16 & EISENLAGER – De Lumière et d’Obscurité
This will be a tough one to review, I’m afraid. Mind you, it’s not about the music, which is stellar as our dear friend JOHN 3:16’s hellscapes never disappoint, nor the elegantly rhythmic grooves of EISENLAGER, who pairs magnificently well with Philippe Gerber’s lush compositions. This EP is more to Continue Reading
Various Artists – Meticulous Midgets 2025
Our dear friends at Russia’s coolest magazine, Meticulous Midgets, have a brand new compilation out! Artists featured include Assembly Of Honey, Svetly, and Crazy Compass among an assortment of amazing Russian indie artists.