Sunset Wings and Brodsky – Songs of Love, Madness and Sleep

From Kaliningrad, Russia (formerly my material ancestral Linn homeland of Koenigsberg, East Prussia) hail one of the most impressive psychedelic folk records I’ve heard in some time.  From the cacophony of the violin starting the album, it morphs into a Beatlesque horn arrangement.  Those few seconds set the tone for Continue Reading

Various Artists – Artoffact Records 2021 Sampler

2021 was a very solid year for electro-industrial record label Artoffact Records out of Canada.  Some of the more incredible cuts from this compilation come from The Hafler Trio & Reptilicus, Cevin Key (from Skinny Puppy), Kælan Mikla with Alcest and of course, Canada’s own Front Line Assembly-related project, Noise Continue Reading

Various Artists – Blackford Hill: Transmissions / Volume One

Welcome to the first proper release promotion of 2022, and it’s quite a lovely way to begin the year.  Blackford Hill is a record company out of Edinburgh, Scotland, and they offer up a compilation of ethereal independent music from bands like Ultramarine, Emily Scott, Kate Carr, Jake Tilson and Continue Reading

Alif – Aynama​-​Rtama

I trust you, my friends, had a lovely Gregorian-Calendar Boxing Day. I spent mine listening to a Lebanese experimental band called Alif. At least as the liner notes on their Bandcamp site explain, it looks to be a collaboration between Lebanese and Egyptian musicians, and features the talents of the Continue Reading

Rapt – None Of This Will Matter

This Z Tapes release left me floored.  Rapt are a folk band out of London who have an ethereal sound which reminded me of musicians like Nick Drake fronting a band on 4AD.  Think, perhaps, of a more airy-sounding This Mortal Coil gone neofolk. The sound is folky without being stale, Continue Reading

Jonny Martyr – Impossible Space

A pleasant surprise out of Edinburgh, Scotland.  Jonny Martyr is a pianist who manages to, “build a world of sound with contemporary classical, electronica, post-rock and serialist influences.”  There is truth in advertising in this release, as each track manages to balance these genres perfectly.  It looks like Martyr has a Continue Reading