• Music

    James Ross / Jim Goodin / Joseph Benzola – Ross Drone: 2nd February 2014

    October 31, 2021 - By 

    Joseph Benzola is an electroacoustic composer, drummer and percussionist whose work I had the pleasure of reviewing on my old blog, but it’s time to catch up on his work. He has been joined by James Ross, who composed this 33-minute track and plays guitar and electronics, and Jim Goodin, who adds viola and more electronics. The track is excellent, and what impressed me most was the fact that it was a gentle wall of noise, reminding me of gamelan music somehow. It’s a rather elegant release for an experimental music recording.

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek – Works Within the Upright Ruins of the Kaszubian Piano, 2015​/​2021

    October 30, 2021 - By 

    Our first review on returning to Brno is a burner, naturally.  Our friend, man of the world, and experimental music composer Jeff Gburek comes by these pages again with a droning masterpiece. This is not the ordinary drone you hear reviewed on these pages, though, truth be told, nothing I review is even remotely ordinary.  The backstory is almost as impressive as these waves of hypnotic (in the best of senses) drones are. To catch the whole story, read Jeff’s writeup on how this fine album came to be.  When he advised me of the album the word Kaszubian brought…

  • Music

    Jerry Jones – Jerry Jones at the Hotel Kingston

    October 29, 2021 - By 

    According to the legendary Studio One Records Bandcamp site, “Geraldine “Jerry” Jones arrived in Kingston in May of 1970 to perform at the Miss Jamaica International Model Pageant held at the Hotel Kingston. She would also appear at the House of Chen, VIP Club, Hotel Flamingo, Runaway Bay Hotel and the Courtleigh Manor Hotel backed by top Jamaican show bands like Tomorrow’s Children, the Mighty Vikings, and the Boris Gardiner Happening. Her visit was arranged in part by Miami-based record producer Alty East, for whom she had recorded three singles released on the Pal Label.” Imagine loving a place so…

  • Music

    Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen – The Bass in the Background

    October 28, 2021 - By 

    Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen was a phenomenal jazz bassist originally out of Roskilde, Denmark.  He was good enough to be drafted by Count Basie’s touring band but had to reject it due to age restrictions. Imagine working with pianists like Kenny Drew, Tete Montoliu, Lee Konitz, Dexter Gordon, Palle Mikkelborg, Svend Asmussen and Stéphane Grappelli among a host of jazz luminaries.  This collection highlights his work with some of these leading lights, and he makes the bass bop madly.  A stellar collection by Storyville Records.

  • Music

    Various Artists – Canary Records: To What Strange Place: The Music of the Ottoman​-​American Diaspora, 1916​-​30

    October 27, 2021 - By 

    Ian Nagoski’s stunningly and consistently impressive Canary Records releases a giant collection of songs from immigrants of the, by then, collapsing Ottoman Empire.  These songs span the time period between the First World War and the Great Depression, and are lovingly transferred and curated by Nagoski, whom you can hear in tracks 54, 55 and 56. Be they Christian, Muslim or Jew, the sons and daughters of the Empire brought so much incredibly good music to America’s shores.  It’s a blessing to have these works preserved.

  • Music

    Merema – Kezeren Koiht (Ancient Custom)

    October 26, 2021 - By 

    Out beloved friends at CPL-Music have released another fascinating album of Russian folk music! Merema hail from Saransk, which is the capital of Russia’s autonomous Republic of Mordovia.  The music is beautifully documented by CPL Records and the documentary work of professor Ekaterina Modina.  The tones of the voices are dulcet, and it sounds unlike most Russian music as the languages of the region have far more in common with the Finno-Ugric family than it does with Russian.  Utterly worthy.  For a more complete review, consider checking out a full album analysis at WorldMusicCentral.org or at WorldListeningPost.com.

  • Music

    Bester Quartet – Piazzolla Angels

    October 25, 2021 - By 

    Poland’s For-Tune Records have been consistently releasing high-quality jazz and improv music for some time now, but their latest has a special place for me. This collection, with the exception of Por Una Cabeza (composed by Carlos Gardel) was composed by the inimitable Ástor Piazzólla and arranged Bester Quartet leader and accordionist Jarosław Bester.  It’s remarkable to hear how fluidly tangos by the masters can be translated so well into jazz and improvisational music.

  • Music

    Taphephobia & IDFT – Kandu

    October 24, 2021 - By 

    For the Halloween season, our friends at Reverse Alignment Records (now run by the Unexplained Sounds Group Empire) out of Sweden and Italy have released an album which has roughly the same spirit as such post-Industrial/dark ambient musicians as Lustmord or Steve Roach.  Taphephobia is the brainchild of Norwegian composer Ketil Søraker, and on this album he is joined by the Iranian sound designer Behnoud, working on this album as IDFT. The tones one this album are long, sweeping, and as bleak as black water pouring out of a nightmare.  Perfect for the season.

  • Music

    Circuit des Yeux – -io

    October 23, 2021 - By 

    The name Circuit des Yeux has come across the laptop several times over the past year, and each review and interview (see this one at The Quietus) raved about her work, so I decided to give it a listen.  It was, undoubtedly, a rewarding experience. Haley Fohr is the singer and the Yeux in question.  With a four-octave voice and the most lush production values I’ve heard out of an album that isn’t ethereal or prog rock, I have to say that this left me floored.  It is as if Fohr has the husky, dusky voice of a female Scott…

  • Music

    Various Artists – NYP Records: Mukambo presents Global Afrobeat Movement 2

    October 22, 2021 - By 

    The first time I had the pleasure of hearing Afrobeat was in Skopje, Macedonia, of all places.  There isn’t a lot of variance to the music on this comp, though there are a few gems on this comp, but I have to be honest – how do you better Fela Kuti and Tony Allen?  It’s a tough sell. This is the future of Afrobeat you’re listening to on this compilation, and the best part is that the genre is exploding everywhere.  You will find bands from Nigerian diasporas in places like France and Spain, but it was interesting to see…