Ellipsis Quintet – Avoid The Void

This is something of a revelation for me!  The music produced by the Ellipsis Quintet, led by trumpeter Vasilis Nalbantis, mixes traditional Balkan, Greek and Levantine melodies inside a framework that would appeal to fans of the avant-progressive and Rock-In-Opposition genres.  Theirs is a prog-world-jazz stew that’s one of the freshest Continue Reading

Roz Vitalis – 20 Years – Alive and Well

Roz Vitalis are a progressive rock band out of St. Petersburg, Russia, who have wowed audiences worldwide by blending symphonic prog with slightly more avant-garde tendencies.  The tracks here are recorded live, but don’t let that dissuade you from trying out this album.  The sound is crisp and full, and Continue Reading

Kombinat M – Hybrid Beat

Cuneiform Records has a great program where they announce that an album in their back catalogue gets offered at half-price, and as I had been wanting to hear this band (they feature drummer, composer and friend Lukas Ligeti) for a long time, I decided to risk it.  It was well Continue Reading

Nick Sudnick – Opera of the Fifteenth Hour

24 Rush Hours is a series done by Zga composer and multi-instrumentalist Nick Sudnick, and this is #15 of 24.  The two long pieces are a pastiche of art-rock (think Rock-In-Opposition like Art Bears or the composers Alfred ’23’Harth and Heiner Goebbels).  Add an element of Bertolt Brecht-like lyrics for Continue Reading

Ángel Ontalva – October Equus Guitar Project Vol. 1

Ángel Ontalva is a Spanish guitarist who spends a great deal of time working in Russia whom we’ve featured here in the past, and he surprises us with a release of an album full of Rock-In-Opposition and chamber-rock influences. From his Bandcamp site: “The origin of this album is in Continue Reading

Thierry Zaboitzeff – Pagan Dances EP

We had the pleasure of reviewing a soundtrack by former Art Zoyd composer Thierry Zaboitzeff in August, and now we’re happy to announce that he has a 20-minute EP now available to peruse. The title track, Pagan Dances, will sound somewhat familiar to Art Zoyd fans, but he has added Continue Reading

Ángel Ontalva – Angel On A Tower

Ángel Ontalva is a welcome site on this blog, and he has a new release to share with us.  He continually surprises us by mixing a Rock-In-Opposition sound (think Samla Mammas Manna) and jazz-rock (maybe a touch of National Health).  It’s unique, taking cues, of course, from some of his Continue Reading

Thierry Zaboitzeff – Séquences

As a cellist, bassist, composer and former member of Art Zoyd, I’d venture to say that Thierry Zaboitzeff needs no introduction.  However, what I didn’t know about him over these past few years was that he has been active making soundtracks. This particular one is for the movie Winds of Continue Reading