• Music

    Meitei (冥丁) – Kwaidan (怪談) (5th Anniversary Edition)

    July 21, 2023 - By 

    Meitei made its debut in 2018 with this freakishly disturbing, yet beautiful, experimental album.  It was a revelation for a lot of music critics, and each listen makes you feel like you’re locked in some disjointed Kurosawa film. Kitchen Music and Evening Chants have combined to reissue this seminal album on its 5-year anniversary, and they have included LP and CD reissues.  From Evening Chants’ Bandcamp site: “In 2018, Meitei shook the ambient world with the release of his debut album “Kwaidan”, a transposition of Japanese folklore into intricate compositions, capturing what he would coin as the “lost Japanese mood”.…

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek – Vigilance Suite I & II

    July 17, 2023 - By 

    Fellow giromondo Jeff Gburek offers another incredibly profound album, balancing perfectly his own signature experimental sound touched with folk and blues, with the spirits of Robbie Basho and John Fahey once again coming along for the ride. For the influence behind this album, please consider taking the time to read his liner notes at the release page here.

  • Music

    Arrowounds – Therianthrope Series

    June 30, 2023 - By 

    A post-punk/ethereal gem has been bestowed upon us by our friends at Lost Tribe Sounds.  Arrowounds tie together influences from bands like, “Can, Bark Psychosis, Young Gods, Slowdive, Durutti Column, Seefeel and much of early 4AD,” according to the band bio, but there is an element that makes this band something apart.  Noise-rock, post-rock, and a more eerie feeling than their influences betray sets the band apart.

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek – Ramifications

    June 29, 2023 - By 

    Though this album is a decade old now, it’s so incredibly well-done that I thought it worth sharing if you like experimental music melded together with field recordings.  Jeff Gburek’s sound art is organic and engaging, the recording was handled so masterfully that one gets the feeling of sitting in the locations listed on the liner notes as Jeff’s Bandcamp site.

  • Music

    William Ryan Fritch – Cohesion

    May 30, 2023 - By 

    William Ryan Fritch’s lastest disc is the, “second in a three-part series reflecting on the many calamitous water crises affecting life on this planet.”  Cohesion is a bit darker than the previous album, Polarity, but there is a more organic feel to it. From Fritch’s Bandcamp site: “In contrast to ‘Polarity,’ which was largely created by synthesized and electronic signals being transformed into acoustic phenomena. ‘Cohesion’ was constructed solely from acoustic instruments (baritone and alto saxophones, oboe, contrabass clarinet, bassoon, tuba, etc) mic’d and processed live to behave and sound like synthesized and/or sequenced sound sources. Using multiple contact mics,…

  • Music

    Various Artists – Meticulous Midgets 2023

    May 25, 2023 - By 

    Our beloved friends at Russia’s finest indie music magazine, Meticulous Midgets, has released their annual compilation of weird experimental, lo-fi and avant-garde music. Featured artists include Russia’s own Assembly of Honey, the Italian ambient sound sculptor Marco Lucchi and Latvia’s Ш​у​м​и​л​о​в Б​о​р (Shumilov Bor) among a host of talent worldwide.

  • Music

    bu.re_ – dream sequence ii

    May 12, 2023 - By 

    Too dense and sumptuous to be labeled ambient music, what Los Angeles’ own bu.re_ offers is a ride on the clouds on your way to something approximating Heaven.  The drones emanating from these works are some of the warmest tones I’ve heard this year.  Bravo.

  • Music

    Alister Fawnwoda – Night Bunny (feat. Suzanne Ciani) – [Carla Azar Reconstruction]

    May 4, 2023 - By 

    I’m new to the music of Alister Fawnwoda, but not to Suzanne Ciani, whose work is immeasurably important.  The thought of hearing these two collaborate was pretty intriguing, and the wait to hear this track was indeed rewarding. The track clocks in at just under 5 minutes, and is a gently sloping listen.  Adding to this particular recording is that it is reworked by Carla Azar of Autolux and Jack White’s backing band fame. After going through other tracks of Alister’s work, I have to say he’s earned a new fan.  His blending of ambient music, Americana and even a…