No review today because we had to send my brother packing to his new home, so in honor of his new abode, I present you with the song perhaps best associated with the city, albeit in a slightly surreal form, courtesy of the Dead Kennedys.
叶尔波利 Yerboli – 哈萨克精神Kazakh Spirit
China has 55 legally recognized minorities, each contributing to the mosaic of the country. This particular project, Yerboli, comes from the Kazakh community, but it is not ethnic music per sé. This is folk music, but with a slightly more mystical element to it. Shenzhen-based Old Heaven Books released this Continue Reading
Biliana Voutchkova – Seeds Of Songs
This release is a double introduction of sorts for me; first, for the chance to finally delve into a full recording of the work of Biliana Voutchkova, an interdisciplinary artist, violinist, performer, composer, improviser and curator from one of the countries I most enjoy visiting, Bulgaria (though she is based Continue Reading
Star Band de Dakar – Psicodelia Afro-Cubana de Senegal
Cuba has a long, storied history of sharing a strong bond with many countries in Africa. From the horrifying slave trade to the Cuban Communist “revolution,” culture and music have flowed back and forth between the island nation and most of the richly cultured continent. This release from the now-legendary Continue Reading
Ferran Fages – Llum Moll
I’ve had the pleasure of reading about Farren Fages‘ work for at least 20 years now, but I never had a chance to fully explore his work. I’m happy to say that I regret not diving into his catalogue earlier. It’s impressive, to say the least. This particular album, Llum Continue Reading
Yat-Kha – We Will Never Die
Albert Kuvezin (Альберт Кувезин) is a legend in the ethno-rock and World Music community. He was one of the founders of the band Huun-Huur-Tu, which brought throat singing into prominence. He went on to form his own band, Yat-Kha, who I came across in 1993. He was managed to meld Continue Reading
The Utopia Strong – The Utopia Strong
The Utopia Strong are a band out of the United Kingdom which blew me away. Praise to Chris Morley for alerting me to the band’s existence. It sounds something like Krautrock or psychedelic rock which goes funky. It’s almost as if you can dance to some of this material. The Continue Reading
Mitchell Manburg – Laplace Resonance
I have to say that this is a pleasantly weird EP by Mitchell Manburg, reminding me in parts of King Crimson’s early 80s era or other progressive rock bands of the time period. It doesn’t have the incredible guitar work of Fripp and Belew, but lyrically, it feels completely in Continue Reading
Gadi Sassoon – Multiverse
Gadi Sassoon is an Italian sound designer and composer whose latest release comes from the venerable Los Angeles-based record label A Strangely Isolated Place. I had only heard one track of his work before, this coming from ASIP’s 2020 Compilation. Though impressive, it didn’t prepare me for one of the Continue Reading
Zacharivna Pisnya Ensemble – Petropavlovka: Songs of Ukrainians from Kyrgyzstan
The Zacharivna Pisnya Ensemble are made up of ethnic Ukrainians who reside in the republic of Kyrgyzstan, and have existed as a group since 1902. Though some of their names have been Russified, they maintain their cultural ties to Ukraine via song. Antonovka Records have done astounding work documenting such Continue Reading