Alexei Aigui & Ensemble 4’33” – Alcohol

I have been a fan of Alexei Aigui’s ensemble work for at least 20 years now, going all the way back to his appearance on the excellent, though now defunct Russian label SoLyd (see the release here).  He has become even more innovative, more progressive, and this latest album, Alcohol, Continue Reading

Onségen Ensemble – Fear

I wish to thank my friend Slava, who is based in Kazakhstan, for introducing me into this avant-prog treasure.  The Onségen Ensemble are a Finnish group who have a rather open personnel, which is in keeping with their mission statement.  The sound is a mix of heavy progressive, psychedelic rock Continue Reading

Ghost Rhythms – Imaginary Mountains

The French band Ghost Rhythms live up to their name.  The beats are pretty wild on this one. This release sets between avant-progressive, Canterbury, and some of the freakier excursions of late-period King Crimson.  Perhaps Samla Mammas Manna and their side-projects could also make good reference points. Very engaging listening, Continue Reading

Jeff Gburek/Akashic Records – Twin Oscillators ((An Electro-Isolation Suite for 2020))

At its heart, Jeff Gburek’s latest release on Bandcamp, Twin Oscillators, presents itself as astoundingly good experimental music.  I had the pleasure of writing about his works (13 mentions, the most, I believe, of any artist whose work I checked out) at my now-defunct blog, A Miscellany of Tasteful Music.  Continue Reading

The Claudia Quintet +1 with Kurt Elling & Theo Bleckmann – What Is The Beautiful?

Cuneiform Records offers a very generous program where a release from their back catalog is offered for $5 ($7 for a double album release), and they don’t skimp on the quality of these releases. Drummer John Hollenbeck’s The Claudia Quintet released this disc in 2011, and as a Rock-In-Opposition / Continue Reading