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Roon or Audirvana and Why

No post today and possibly tomorrow due to catching a case of bronchitis, but as I heal, I thought I’d spend the weekend comparing the virtues of using Roon or Audivarna.  Both have great interfaces for playing your digital music collection.  Audivarna has access to better sound quality, but Roon seems to have a cleaner interface to work with.  I’ll give this until late February, when my three-month trial ends for Roon, to make a decision.

You can read more at the Headphones.com forum on the topic.

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Sonologyst – Shortwave Spectrum

It has been far too long since I’ve had the pleasure to review albums by Sonologyst, perhaps the finest dark ambient project to come out of Italy in the last decade and impresario of Unexplained Sounds Group, who have introduced dark music from all over the world.

This album offers lush drones that wrap themselves around your ears.  Best to let Raffaele explain further:

“The new Sonologyst “sonic documentary” delves into the secretive realm of shortwave transmissions; a chronicle of clandestine shortwave transmissions culled from a span of nearly four decades (1982-2021). These mysterious transmissions – repetitive voices, signals, sound pulses, short pieces of music – were collated and edited to compose the tracks of the main album.

Immersed in an isolating fog of dark ambient, deep drone music and cinematic sound art, it provides an auditory exploration of the ongoing Cold War. Originating from covert radio stations engaged in military and espionage endeavours, the tracks unveil a hidden sonic landscape of strategic communication.

The second disc, in its extensive presentation, provides a deeper immersion into these enigmatic broadcasts. Each recording remains unaltered, accompanied only by a ghostly drone. It offers an unfiltered glimpse into the world of clandestine communication, where words are transmitted beneath the radar and in the shadowy confines of the electromagnetic spectrum.“

 

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Priori & Al Wootton – FLAW

I’ve been in search of good minimal techno since the subject came up with a colleague’s student (he has access to several brilliant students, present and former, whom I hope to feature here in the future).  Doing a bit of digging, this release by Priori and Al Wootton perked up my ears the most this evening.  Dark, beaty, and incredibly good for headphone listening.

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Airto & Flora – A Celebration: 60 Years – Sounds, Dreams & Other Stories

Those of you who know Brazilian jazz will need no introduction to this glorious pair, but for those who don’t, here’s a lovely introduction thanks to the good folks at Barely Breaking Even Records’ Bandcamp site:

“Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, the legendary King and Queen of Brazilian Jazz, have captivated audiences for over six decades with their vibrant albums and exhilarating live performances. With a dedicated global fan base including the UK’s jazz funk and jazz dance scene to Japan’s concert halls, the power couple continues to make waves in the industry – Flora’s ‘If You Will’ (2022) album was even nominated for a Grammy!

The duo met and came together musically in Sambalanço and the Sambrasa Trio. The mixture of Airto’s rural Brazilian background and percussion talents and Flora’s classical training and involvement in the underground Bossa Nova movement, created a unique blend of sounds that resonates across generations. They have not only collaborated with music legends like Miles Davis and Chick Corea but have also produced ground-breaking music alongside the likes of Hermeto Pascoal.

Despite facing numerous challenges, including Flora’s arrest and incarceration in 1974, the duo’s close connection with friends-musicians like Thelonius Monk and Cannonball Adderley, their persistence and absolute passion for music have propelled them to the pinnacle of success. They worked with renowned musicians like Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, George Duke and producers such as Orin Keepnews and Creed Taylor.

Having been a part of numerous prestigious ensembles, including Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations ensemble, Airto and Flora’s journey is a testament to their innovation and devotion to their craft. This collection offers a glimpse of that incredible journey, showcasing their extraordinary talent and unique sound and it’s also the first comp scanning their 60 year careers.

Compiled by Straight No Chaser editor/publisher Paul Bradshaw & Totally Wired Radio presenter Roberta Cutolo.”

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Daulet Halek (达吾列提·哈勒克) – Daulet Halek: Dombra Solo (达​吾​列​提​·​哈​勒​克​演​奏​的​冬​不​拉​曲)

This release honors the memory of Chinese Kazakh composer Daulet Halek who passed away in 2008.

From the release’s Bandcamp site:

“Producer’s Note:

This album has its genesis in a precious reel-to-reel tape recording which we discovered in a radio station. It is unfortunate that the tape itself does not contain information on the date of recording, which we roughly speculate to be around the late-1980s to the early-1990s.

The recording in this album has two parts. The first is Daulet Halek’s interpretation of folk tunes from other ethnic minority groups, including the Tatars, the Mongols, the Sibe, and the Kyrgyz. The second part documents Daulet’s performance of works of the great Kazakh composer Kurmangazy Sagyrbaev.


Thanks to Mamer’s tremendous help, this historical recording is now published by Old Heaven Books. We are honoured to be able to give this deeply buried gem a new life.


This album is also an invaluable addition to Old Heaven Book’s “archival recording” series, a project we are seriously committed to. The series has generated two albums so far: Guo Yongzhang Zhuizi Selections (2019) and Nikhil Banerjee in California, 1967 (2020). This record will, to our delight, bring the graceful performance of Daulet Halek’s dombra, as well as the unique charm of Kazakh folk music, to a wider audience.
Lastly, we cannot help but mention that this is also a record with sublime audio quality. We sincerely hope you feel it and enjoy it as we do.


(Tu Fei)”

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Earthtones & Etsegenet Mekonnen – Selam

This is a rather glorious single pairing American DJ Earthtones with Ethiopian singer Etsegenet Mekonnen.  From the release’s Bandcamp site:

“Selam is a vision of peace. This collaboration between producer/DJ Earthtones and Ethiopian musician/vocalist Etsegenet Mekonnen features haunting vocals sung in Amharic.

Analog & semi-modular synths combine with 909 drums and afrobeats percussion by Earthtones, to weave grooves for Etsegenet’s depth in songwriting, voice and soul. The main version has a dancehall bassline that calls one to movement, while the dub versions evoke mystery amidst long modulated leads + filtered pads.”

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Mirt – More Tarutao Recordings

Mirt, a Polish experimental artists, offers up sound recordings from Thailand.  From his Bandcamp site:

“This is another part of an ongoing series of recordings made on Tarutao island. This time, the entire album focuses on the overall soundscape of the island and is a collection of random recordings I made during last trip to Tarutao National Park. Tracks 1 and 3 are recorded from a drop rig with no human presence on site and seem particularly interesting.

Although these are not binaural recordings, I recommend listening with headphones.”
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Oleg Karpachev – Sputnik (Dir. Egor Abramenko) O​.​S​.​T.

I have never heard of Oleg Karpachev, a Israeli soundtrack composer, but thanks to the fine folks at the legendary Cold Spring Records, I can spend this day blown away by this soundtrack which melds together Hans Zimmer and In Slaughter Natives in some fashion.  From the label’s Bandcamp site:

“Released for the first time on any format, we proudly present the soundtrack to the 2020 sci-fi horror film ‘Sputnik’ (directed by Egor Abramenko). The bleak and hauntingly atmospheric film is accompanied by an impressively heavy soundtrack from Oleg Karpachev, who uses bombastic percussion, stirring strings, and otherworldly synths to convey the horror unfolding on screen.

Set during Cold War Soviet Russia, the ominous film starring Oksana Akinshina (Bourne Supremacy), Fedor Bondarchuk, and Pyotr Fyodorov Jr follows the story of a cosmonaut returning from space with a mysterious extraterrestrial organism; essential viewing for those with a penchant for “Alien”-style body horror.”