From the release’s Bandcamp site: ““Golpea Tu Cerebro” (“Shake Your Brain”) is the first ever vinyl compilation dedicated to the unknown yet fascinating Spanish underground cassette scene from the ’80s. In the early 80s, with few resources but unlimited imagination, youngsters all across Spain started recording at home their experimental, Continue Reading
Avant-Garde
Helena Espvall / Ernesto Diaz-Infante / Marjorie Sturm – A Shadowed Fulguration
Thanks ever so much to Ernesto Diaz-Infante for alerting me to his latest release with percussionist and Nepalese flute player Marjorie Sturm (his spouse, if I am not mistaken) and cellist Helena Espvall. Musically, there is a gritty, lo-fi feel to the recordings, with the guitar sounding more like a Continue Reading
David Thomas and two pale boys – I’m Alive!
We have sad news to report. Yesterday, David Thomas, singer of the legendary art-punk band Pere Ubu, passed away. We honor his memory by sharing a rather brilliant live album with his side project, David Thomas and Two Pale Boys. From Pere Ubu’s Bandcamp site: “David Thomas, Andy Diagram, and Continue Reading
Marshall Allen – New Dawn
The fact that Marshall Allen is 100 years old and making his debut album in 2025 is utterly mind-blowing. I assumed that he must have released a few solo albums considering his pedigree as a member and eventual leader of Sun Ra’s big band. This album is a lush affair, Continue Reading
Trajectories – Quiet on Kökar
Trajectories is a troupe from Quebec who produce electroacoustic music. From their Bandcamp site: “The album Quiet on Kökar was conceived of during a recent artist residency undertaken on the small island of Kökar in the Åland Archipelago in Finland, experimenting with a variety of recording set-ups and collaborative compositional Continue Reading
Maria Teriaeva – Sayan – Savoie
“Maria Teriaeva is a Siberian-born, Paris-based musician and composer. She uses the Buchla modular synthesizer as a framework for her music combining it with acoustic instruments and voice,” so says her bio on Bandcamp. She has become quite a revelation to me, as her music is some of the must Continue Reading
Nick Sudnick – Opera of the Sixth Hour
Zga bandleader Nick Sudnick has been busy composing his Opera of the Hours series, and this installation might be his most creative yet. It has the passion of Rock-In-Opposition with a touch of Frank Zappa’s general weirdness. This is in keeping with what I remember of the old Soviet avant-garde Continue Reading
Revista Bastardo
No record reviews today, but I would like to point you to a Mexican blog/magazine who cover Rock-In-Opposition, Avant-Prog and Krautrock and freaky art, all written in Spanish, called Revista Bastardo. They’re a new name to me, but certainly one worth following.
Karolina Ossowska & Jeff Gburek – Witch-Hazel
We have another elegant experimental/electroacoustic album by violinist Karolina Ossowska and her partner in this release, Jeff Gburek. There is a Nurse With Wound-meets-György Ligeti vibe to this release, maybe even references to Krzysztof Penderecki’s earlier avant-garde works, but given a gritty, ghostly treatment. Another glorious release.
Ilia Belorukov & Marina Džukljev – Everything Changes, Nothing Disappears
Ilia Belorukov is a multi-instrumentalist who hails from Russia, but since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he has been a resident of Novi Sad Serbia and will probably be for awhile. He is making wonderful use of his time by collaborating with local talent. Marina Džukljev is a pianst and first-rate improvisor, Continue Reading