If you can believe it, this Czech EP was recorded by a 17-year-old kid who has a profound appreciation for bedroom pop, new wave and indie. He’s quite a decent storyteller, and despite the lo-fi production, there’s a lot of charm in this album.
-
-
What a gem this one is from our friends at The Church of the Noisy Goat Records. I’ll let them explain the work here: “Listen to the album Der Golem (2012) continuing the series of rarities re-released by this net-label covering the beginning of the very rich career of the masterful Japanese composer and improviser mora-tau aka Takenori Iwasaki who occupies a prestigious place in ours and in the best and most varied virtual shelves of Bandcamp because I know that we love to collect unusual music and totally free from aesthetic shackles. Conceived as a subjective soundtrack for the…
-
There is a large outpouring of grief over the war from many artists I know on both sides. My friend Jos Smolders has made his contribution as well. From his Bandcamp site: “A small album of improvisations that I recorded to express my disgust about the war in Ukraine. All of the money I receive from sales will be donated to organizations that help the Ukrainian people. I hardly ever infuse my music with politics, but this feels different. Please buy a copy of the album and help those poor people. The music was produced primarily with Blippoo and electric guitar.”
-
Though it’s been four years, the loss of Jóhann Jóhannsson due to an overdose has left a massive hole in contemporary classical music, drone, experimental music, post-rock and so many other genres his work touched on. This opus, performed by the legendary Paul Hillier and backed my ACME, is as close to heaven as some of us might ever get. The vocals are haunting, mournful, but sound totally in place since we begin the Western Holy Week as celebrated by Catholics and non-apostolic churches. Bleak and beautiful.
-
Don Leisure is a Cardiff based producer and DJ whose latest work, dedicated to his legendary uncle, the Bollywood actor Nasser ‘Shaboo’ Bharwani, left me wondering how I didn’t hear about him before. From his Bandcamp website: “‘Shaboo Strikes Back‘ is a much-awaited sequel to the 2017 smash, and again features a modest 25 tracks. Psychedelic fuzzy samples and phat beats aplenty, Don Leisure once again takes us on a far-out trip across soundscapes. A real tapestry of flavours, from jazz to reggae, and from the soulful to the spiritual, this time round he’s invited a few special guests to…
-
As magnificently weird as most Hermeto Pascoal albums are, this one holds a special place in my heart, as it sounds like a more Amazonian Mahavishnu Orchestra jamming with Bill Bruford, Jeff Berlin and maintaining a healthy jazz thread all the while.
-
The Ukrainian pianist Valentin Silvestrov released this home recording in 2020, and though it might lack slightly in recording quality, the beauty of his Chopin-esque playing shines through. Beautiful music for dark times.
-
Originally released in 1999, this album by American composers and ambient music legends Steve Roach and John Strate-Hootman (operating here as Vir Unis) combine tribal electronic music with what was then erroneously called New Age music. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “Steve Roach and Vir Unis combine different rhythmic sensibilities and undeniable soundscapes in an alchemical reaction, creating an aural sensation that is surreal, hallucinogenic, but still organically human. Body Electric is a welcomed edition to the borderless world of new electronic music; this album is a zenith in bio-electronic body music, an evolutionary spark, a focused, high-energy trip of…
-
Shaytoon Records has released a compilation introducing some of the finest minimal techno coming out of Iran these days. The label is based in New York, but the bands come, more or less, from the motherland, though America’s Persian diaspora is well-represented. The beats are rather icy and cold, reminding me of acts like Front Line Assembly and Delerium, though bearing a more mellow hue. These acts are definitely worth exploring.
-
Bassist Jason Köhnen has a deep pedigree in the world of darkjazz. He was a member of the profoundly interesting Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble out of The Netherlands, and he’s now participating in a new project with Dimitry El-Demerdashi (ex-Phurpa) and Martina Horváth on vocals. As noted on Mansur’s Bandcamp site: “‘Minotavrvs’ is Mansur’s first live improv recording. An ambient journey. A musical homage to the mythos of the Minotaur. The minotaur as a mirror of self reflection; the fear of confronting one’s inner monster. ‘Minotavrvs’ is a sonic voyage through subterranean ruins and labyrinths, evoking spirits from past echoes of Minoan…