Expand your taste in music. Based in Beijing, China.
From Vampi Soul’s Bandcamp site:
“Elia y Elizabeth Fleta were two Colombian girls who recorded a handful of songs between 1972 and 1973, acompannied by Jimmy Salcedo and his group La Onda Tres, mixing soft-pop with a touch of tropical-pastoral funk, singer-songwriter sweetened by the subtle perfume of Caribbean music and psychedelia.”
Charming, sunny music for a very cold Beijing day.
The Drone Pilots are a rather secretive collective I encountered by chance here in Beijing. They specialize in long-form trance mixes, and this particular one uses, of all bands to choose from, the Electric Light Orchestra as base material. From the project’s Soundcloud site:
“”I have a message from another Time” – Prologue
Tribute to the legendary Electric Light Orchestra who first industrialised the synth/strings combo. Namecheck: Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, Bev Bevan, Richard Tandy,, Reinhold Mack and remembering Kelly Groucutt, Louis Clark, Musicland Studios (RIP), Vocoder 2000 and the orchestral cast of thousands following on from Mik Kaminski, Hugh McDowell and Melvyn Gale with commiserations to ELO Part II/ The Orchestra (Eric Troyer, Parthenon Huxley et al)
“Time has the final word” – Yours Truly, 209500:00 The Drone Pilots – The Drone Pilots Intro
00:15 Electric Light Orchestra – Prologue
01:20 Electric Light Orchestra – Eldorado Overture
02:21 Deeparture, Run Rivers – Electric Light
03:30 Guven Toktas, Greendoxyn – Psychotica (Greendoxyn Remix)
04:42 Bynomic – Space Diamond
05:36 Kay-D, J.P. Velardi – Generation Spiral (J.P. Velardi Extended Remix)
06:17 Simon Gregory – Arpeggiator (Extended Mix)
07:06 Jonas Saalbach – Marvelous Light
07:46 Simon Gregory – Gonna Be Better (Extended Mix)
09:43 Darren Tate – Ark (Extended Mix)
10:28 Martin Cozar – Call Me When You Are Sober
12:12 Orjan Nilsen – 9910
13:10 Chicane, Moya Brennan, Ilan Bluestone – Saltwater (Ilan Bluestone Remx)
14:43 Orjan Nilsen – 9910
15:41 Soft Analog – KAÇ
16:59 ARTY – Listen to Me
17:49 LKX – Silver Lining
18:35 Matija, Richard Elcox – Penguin Roadtrip
19:11 Rodrigo Deem – Southern Sky (Extended Mix)
19:37 Nick Schwenderling, Tube & Berger – Daft Disco (Extended Mix)
20:51 Swedish House Mafia, Mau P – Ray of Solar (Mau P Remix)
21:37 LAR – Breathe
23:20 Jason McMullen – Freedom (Original)
24:53 Think Deep – Fallen
26:40 Travis Jess, Chrisstrat, Erich LH – Between Us (Erich LH Remix)
27:38 Sinan Arsan, Paul Hamilton – Halycon (Paul Hamilton Remix)
28:08 Alican – 42nd Floor
29:10 Alex H, Ranj Kaler – Sip Your Poison (Ranj Kaler Remix Edit)
30:57 UNWA, VIBE BESIDE, Soursop – Twinkling Lights (Soursop Remix)
31:17 NAAK – Phambili
32:22 Influence (IN), Matt Oliver – Quintessence (Matt Oliver Remix)
33:39 Influence (IN) – Mood
34:12 Lightning Effect – Mythology
35:29 Nitrous Oxide – Division (Extended Mix)
36:32 Cubicore, Ava Silver, Don Rize – Strangers (Den Rize Extended Mix)
37:21 Spada, Melodi Hristov – Nummer Eins (Melodi Hristov Remix)
38:01 Charlie Clouser – Blood Board (Edit)
38:22 Montw, Anton Borin (RU), Fabri Lopez – Obsidian (Fabri Lopez Remix)
38:39 Gav Easby – Reconcile
39:30 FAWZY, Nour, Cafe de Anatolia – Ya Leil (Extended Remix)
40:01 MIchael A, Cream (PL) – Ignitiona (Cream (PL) Remix
40:30 Sound Fusion – Cobalt
41:17 Kay-D – Lambda Code 11 (Extended Mix)
42:50 Fractal Architect, Around Us – Aurora Borealis (Around Us Remix)
43:09 Duran Duran – DANSE MACABRE
44:50 Rokka – Operator
45:43 HAAB – Dark Road
46:34 The Advocate, 88Birds – For You (Extended Mix)
47:19 Neuralis – No One
47:38 VegaZ SL – Vibjooshitham
48:44 Mr Mind – Serendipity
49:17 MEDUZA, Em Beihold, Sam Tompkin, GENESI – Phone (GENESI Remix)
50:00 Jeff Ozmits, Robert B, EMME – Your Lights
50:56 Spaceship Commanders, Enlusion – Dark Space (Enlusion Remix)
51:23 Dan & Dan, Daniela Rhodes, Mind of Us – Worthy Of Your Love (Mind Of Us Remix)
51:40 Diego Galloso, Noam Garcia, Cafe De Anatolia – Cry of Forbidden Love
54:50 Gru V, Rockka – Sunsets on Jupiter
55:20 Batikan Tanrikulu, Monnarsh, Several Definitions – Haunted (Several Definitions Remix)
56:50 The Blizzard, Mattt Fax – Kalopsia (Matt Fax Remix)
57:55 Nifra, Leo Reyes – Humanoid
58:39 Eximinds, Lyd14, Ramsey Westwood, SICKCODE – Paper Heart (Ramsey Westwood & SICKCODE Extended Remix)”
Before Afrobeat became such a massive influence across Africa, Congolese music seemed to be the pride of the continent. A joyous mix of merengue, rhumba and local music would influence a great deal of West African popular music until James Brown and others came over to topple over the previous pop idols. Respect to Planet Ilunga out of Belgium for producing this gorgeous artifact.
As I have to stay home due to a nasty cold, I thought I’d explore some older releases. Our dear friends at Wewantsounds released this compilation of spiritual jazz in 2017, and it sounds as fresh as ever. Some of the giants featured on this album include Harold Land, Roy Haynes and Shelly Manne, but each track is solid.
Led by guitarist Takis Barbagalas, Will-O-The Wisp are a Greek psychedelic rock band from the late 1990’s whose Hammond organ-infused rock sounds as authentic as anything from the late 1960’s to early 1970’s.
Krivitsky is/are a project out of Israel that meld funk together with a fusion vibe stamped with a quasi-Soviet aesthetic.
This massively heavy release by Allysen Callery collaborating with doom monsters Mother Bear is appropriate for Halloween. From the release’s Bandcamp site:
“”Creep here with me, keep it close and you might see…the little things that glow…and they all have teeth…”
Something spooky this way comes!
Allysen Callery has joined supernatural forces with Germany’s Doom metal masters Mother Bear , for a delightfully dark offering presented by Gruselthon, sub label of Cosirecords.”
If you can imagine Shirley Collins with a slight stoner vibe, you’re coming close to the power of this release.
Something perfect for Halloween, this soundtrack released by Sounds For The Soul should be enough to either scare trick-or-treaters away or leave the more interesting ones intrigued by the dark and heavy sounds coming from this album.
Rüüt hail from Estonia and offer an incredible take on Estonian ethnic music, modernized for the 21st Century, taking in elements of jazz. The band describes their music this way:
“The band is characterized by mystical atmosphere, intricate harmonic, melodic and rhythmic combinations, precision and a common feel. This is what Rüüt’s music is like.”
Thanks to our dear friends at Nordic Notes for hipping us to this release a while ago!
Though there are only two tracks currently available to listen to on this album, Frukstrakt, a new ethno-jazz album by Polish bassist Michał Aftyka and his quintet is as cool as anything ECM Records has released that would qualify as Nordic jazz.