Every now and then, a crunchy, loud, nearly abrasive (but pleasantly so) release is needed to shake me out of having too much calm in my day. Our dear friends at Porto Alegre’s finest experimental label, The Church of Noisy Goat have released another heavy release full of rough post-Industrial…
Readers who visit frequently know that I have a few artists and labels who I am happy to champion because they never let me down in terms of quality of music or their curating abilities. I’m happy to add another label to this list: Lost Tribe Sound. The label is…
It has been a while since Bandcamp has offered one of its (formerly) monthly Bandcamp Fridays. It’s quite a trying time for those who rely solely on music, so today may be a good time to support your favorite artist or try purchasing a new album who has piqued your…
Dario Elia, working under the name Megamozaki on this release, is an old friend who makes some very impressive industrial rock with elements one normally wouldn’t think to put together. Starting a capella, one would get the impression you would be hearing Sardinian chant, but it melts seamlessly into a…
As a cellist, bassist, composer and former member of Art Zoyd, I’d venture to say that Thierry Zaboitzeff needs no introduction. However, what I didn’t know about him over these past few years was that he has been active making soundtracks. This particular one is for the movie Winds of…
Denmark’s SteepleChase Records has a brilliant catalog worth exploring, featuring not only homegrown talent like Niels-Henning Ørsten Pedersen and Pierre Dørge but also internationally known stars like Lee Konitz, Cedar Walton, Sun Ra and the inimitable Chet Baker among others. This particular album is led by pianist Duke Jordan, and…
A reissue specialist label called Rarità Tradizionali have published a fine collection of music from Lebanon and Iraq from 1972, and it sounds brilliant. This album was apparently never released, and it’s surprising considering the quality of the musicianship of these instrumentalists from Iraq and Lebanon (including buzuk player Matar…
Imagine if Django Reinhardt and Vassilis Tsitsanis were to form a band together, combining the best elements of gypsy jazz and rebetiko. This is what Gadjo Dilo offer. The musicianship is superb, the recording is crisp, and these young Greek lads have a punchy, authentic sound that will get you…
Inana is the fourth album by Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir ElSaffar which came out in 2011. The trumpeter starts the album with eight tracks dedicated to Inanna, the Mesopotamian goddess of sex, beauty, war and political power. ElSaffar mixes microtonal jazz with Arabic scales such as maqam, which seems to be…
Good music and good new labels are easy to find if you apply yourself. Zhelezobeton is not a new label, per sé, but a lot of the bands they work with will be new to listeners who don’t normally follow what is happening in the Russian sphere of influence. This…