Eromoscape is an ambient artist from Syria, but not the kind who implements pulses (as opposed to beats, which is, as I understand it, against the original principle of ambient music) which are dark, somewhat foreboding, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Yggdrasil & Vera Kondratieva — Timint Areh
Yggdrasil are a Faroese project led by multi-instrumentalist Kristian Blak (whom I had the pleasure, many years ago, of meeting in Varna, Bulgaria) and a host of local musicians along with singer Vera Kondratieva from Siberia. You would expect to hear a melding of Scandinavian and traditional Siberian music on Continue Reading
Mimi Roman – First Of The Brooklyn Cowgirls
Unless one thinks of the ever-amusing singer Kinky Freidman, I can’t say I’m terribly familiar with Brooklyn Jewish people being heavily involved in country music. Enter charming Brooklynite Mimi Roman, whose voice was among the early pioneers of rockabilly. It’s a large collection at 35 tracks, but it’s worth every Continue Reading
Severine Day – Unsterblich EP
Severine Day hails from Belgium, and she produces an post-punk sound that brings up memories of bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, French cold wave bands like Clair Obscur, and even a touch of Nico, but with a sound that is as modern as it is authentic. It’s a thrill Continue Reading
Abdel Halim Hafez – Mawood
Though it is always with great sadness that modern record labels who release spectacular vinyl editions don’t offer such releases on digital formats for sale, it’s a forgivable sin, as our dear friends at WeWantSounds continue to impress with their choices of artists they so lovingly reissue. Abdel Halim Hafez Continue Reading
Sula Bassana – Nostalgia
Though he have nearly 20 years under his belt with this band, I have to admit that I never heard David Schmidt’s music until this evening. Sula Bassana’s latest release, Nostalgia, is a gloriously slow wade into space rock. It’s heavy, sludgy, and exactly the sort of thing that I Continue Reading
Sound and Voice – That Which is Unknown
This has to be one of my favorite psychedelic folk releases since the heyday of bands like Charalambides. Merit Medrano is an Austin-based guitarist and leader of Sound and Voice, which is, apparently, his latest musical project, implying that he’s been a busy soul for some time now. The music Continue Reading
Various Artists – Ten Songs from Houshang Ebtehaj
Iranian poet and balladeer Hushang Ebtehaj passed away on August 10, 2022, but left an incredibly rich body of work. This compilation, released by Tehran-based record label Khosousi, brings together Ebtehaj’s best interpreters, such as Mohammad Reza Sharjarian and his son Homayoun,as well as Alireza Eftekhari, Hossein Ghavami, Mohammad Motamedi Continue Reading
Soyuz (Союз) – Force of the Wind (Сила ветра)
Belarus is not what one would think of as a Brazilian music hotspot, though, if my friends in the country could enlighten me to the local music scene, I would really appreciate it. Still, Soyuz, led by singer Alex Chumak blend a Brazil-meets-Santana-meets-funk beat and this album engages you quickly, Continue Reading
Dirty Three – Whatever You Love, You Are
The Dirty Three are Mick Turner, Jm White and Warren Ellis, and between them, they have worked with a who’s who of alternative music like P.J. Harvey, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and Nick Cave among others. What’s most impressive about their sound, however, is that they can sew together angular post-rock with a Continue Reading