Jerzy Milian is one of the most important jazz musicians to ever come out of Poland. In this rather expensive album, he is collaborating with the BRT Radio (now VRT Radio) Orchestra during the late 1960s. The release showcases Milian’s vibraphone talents, but also shows how multi-faceted his music was, incorporating beat, rock and soundtrack music into his oeuvre.
Our dear friends at Lost Tribe Sound start the year with two powerful releases, though I’ll concentrate on one today (with the other in the next week or so). This one is by Belgian composer ‘t Geruis (a rather unusual name, which, in Dutch, means “The Noise” or “The Murmur“). The album, at least the four rather remarkable tracks available to hear, have a grainy, organic quality to the loops which build and collapse in a still-life manner. The music has more in common with graphic art or experimental film than it does with cold, staid experimental music. Quite an…
Our dear friend Drem Bruinsma, the BlindººCoyote in question, provides a 20-minute track of ambient loops, eerie rhythms and and enchanting soundscapes. From his Bandcamp site: “Inspired by personal hikes into various shadowless desert arroyos, to meet with silence, coyotes, antelope, dust and rocks, leveling with tumbleweeds and sagebrushes from a different perspective, walking on those eroded, shallow dry riverbeds, meandering arid nature’s hidden trails when you lose track of time and where you encounter hiding parts of your identity. This track simulates the immersive, enveloping experience of slow- changing minimal landscapes observed from a ground-level perspective, the shallow dry…
Euphemia Rise is a rather remarkable project run by Wim Lankriet. Born a Cow is Wim’s debut album, and it’s quite a fine work, combining an acidic psychedelic music which reminds me of Syd Barrett in parts while maintaining a 1980’s-1990’s gothic feel. Lyrically, it is a heavy album covering such topics as. “being (sexually) different and facing people’s judgments – but also venture into darker subjects such as drug prostitution, sadomasochism, rape…” Wim notes, and I would strongly agree, that the tone is never negative. I’m not sure this music put a smile on my face, but it left…
I had no idea what to expect with this album except that it was promoted by Carbon 7 record label impresario and former Univers Zéro bassist Guy Segers. His taste tends to be outstanding, so I gave this a shot. Quite pleasant, actually. Dominique Figaro’s voice reminds me of a lot of 80s female avant-pop which was coming out in the 1980s or 1990s, and though the sound is a bit too compressed for my liking, the music is quirky enough to hold my attention throughout. It is as if Sade fronted Tuxedomoon for a session. Yes, that quirky, and…
Our friends over at P.O.G.O. Records have released a record which relates very well with acts like Big Black and The Jesus Lizard. Black Ink Stain are from Belgium, and I have to say this album is as brutal as anything labels like Touch & Go Records released at their peak. The production is a bit raw, but it makes the album sound like an authentic post-punk record. The magazine Muzzart does a good review of the album in French here.
laaps Records is a French label releasing quality ambient music. This one seems to be their latest, a calming wash of sounds composed by Belgian composer Stin Hüwels in collaboration with the Brazilian-Japanese composer and sound artist (and emergency room doctor!) Tomoyoshi Date. The music is a mix of organic and electronic sounds, gentle plonking tones, and a very, very relaxed atmosphere. This could be music to sleep to, and I mean this as a high compliment. From their Bandcamp site: 遠き火、遠き雲 (Tōki Hi, Tōki Kumo / A Distant Fire, A Distant Cloud) is the second collaboration by Tomoyoshi Date and…