Respect to Sharla Records out of Skopje, Macedonia, who have produced over 100 records now of fine alternative music sung in the home language.
Alternative
Valerie Renay – Peel the Skin
Though listed in the tags as dream pop, this feels more like a sultrier, weirder dream than I’m used to, and the track is all the better for it. Valery Renay is a singer based out of Berlin, Germany. Her voice is as alluring a thing as I have heard Continue Reading
Matryoshka – Laideronnette
Matryoshka are a band from Japan who play a nearly heartbreaking version of post-rock topped with gentle, almost drowned-out vocals. This adds to the character of the record. It’s one of the saddest albums I’ve heard in a while, but achingly so.
Mira – Mira
From the good souls over at Projekt Records: “Mira were a dream pop/shoegaze band from Tallahassee, Florida, formed in 1996 featuring vocalist Regina Sosinski, guitarist Tom Parker, bassist Max Fresen and drummer Alan Donaldson, with second guitarist Mark Davidson. After releasing several EPs on their own Tesseract label, the band Continue Reading
Various Artists – Was Ist Das?: Ballads Of Seduction, Fertility And Ritual Slaughter
This is a rather novel concept. The compilation featured here, courtesy of Was Ist Das?, is, as the Guardian states, “… a fittingly weird 50th anniversary tribute to The Wicker Man’s startling soundtrack. Magpahi’s synth-drizzled Maypole, Dean McPhee’s Sunset and Meg Baird’s Willow’s Song are particularly gorgeous.” Each track stands Continue Reading
Hull of Light – Gilded Liminal Shrines
Here we have Hull of Light, an “…international collective of cosmic cowboys and cowgirls with members from Megason, Suffering Hour, Zeresh (our beloved friends), Underground Spiritual Game & Sleepwalker [夢遊病者].” The music was absolutely not what I was expecting, as a few of these come from a raw, powerful black Continue Reading
Undone – Indeed
Three brilliant musicians, Ronit Bergman, Dorian Jovanović and Filip Mitrov, combine to make heavy neo-psychedelic music with a gritty edge to it. A peach of a release.
Tribal People React to A-ha Take On Me For The First Time
It’s rather charming to see cultures like this clash. These folks from Sindh, Pakistan, give their takes on everything from music to technology, usually with a calm, relaxed and jovial insight. In this episode, they listen to a-ha’s classic tune, “Take On Me,” and it seems they really enjoy not Continue Reading
‘Do You Remember’ 5-part podcast series to trace origins, legacy of Hüsker Dü
From the venerable Slicing Up Eyeballs: “Minnesota Public Radio’s The Current has just launched a five-part documentary podcast series called “Do You Remember?” that promises to trace the formative years and legacy of Hüsker Dü through interviews with those who were there as well as the three band members themselves — Continue Reading
stotrojka – Најубави
Kanal 103 FM is the best independent radio program in the whole of the Balkans, never mind Macedonia. I’ve had many friends work there and produce amazing shows, so when Gjorgji Janevski let me know that this compilation was out, I rushed to hear it! From stotrojka’s (the label associated Continue Reading