• Music

    Taennya – Natural Serenity

    July 22, 2021 - By 

    Taennya is Tatyana Maslova, an ambient music composer from Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia.  The city is home to some of my favorite musicians (including Roman Stolyar and Sergei Belichenko among others), and it looks like I have another musician whose works will be on my playlist for some time to come. The tracks are instrumental, with big, cavernous washes of sound.  As far as ambient music goes, this gives off a warm, calming feeling without being saccharine.  You will hear beats and voices here and there, and these help to guide you deeper into this enveloping sound.  A very engaging release.

  • Music

    Cyanosis – Unscathed

    July 12, 2021 - By 

    Costa Rica, musically, has always been a mystery to me.  The last contact I had was with a brilliant DJ out of San José who hosted a progressive rock radio program, but to find out that there is experimental music coming out of the country is a very pleasant surprise. Cyanosis is not a stranger to this site, as Efrain Valerio’s work was reviewed when he participated in a split album with our friends Destruktionsanstalt in April.  This is the first chance I have had to hear his own work, and it is as bleak a recording as I have…

  • Music

    Linn Friberg feat. Zumaia – Oddity Spirale (Remixes) EP

    July 9, 2021 - By 

    Our dear friend Zumaia has reached the mid-century mark in his life, which is, of course, a wonderful milestone.  We at Music You Need To Hear celebrate his birth, and the exceptional work he does with his label, the Bordeaux-based Kalamine Records.  In honor of this milestone, Linn Friberg, composer and curator of the INTENT series on the label collaborate on a sonic birthday present for fans of the label. The music is cavernous, full of post-industrial and dark ambient soundscapes.  I would compare the sound to early experimental cassette-based musicians, but the sounds are so utterly crisp that it…

  • Music

    Robert Scott Thompson – Through Circle and Shadow

    July 8, 2021 - By 

    It’s been a while since I had the pleasure to feature Robert Scott Thompson on our blog, though you will be seeing releases from a label he plays a large role in, Aucourant Records, in the future. Through Circle and Shadow is a 7-and-a-half minute piece of gentle ambient music which is dark and reminiscent of some Berlin School-related artists, and others like Robert Rich and Steve Roach.  There’s something more cosmic in this release, however, and it sounds magnificent on a set of good headphones.

  • Music

    Various Artists – Anthology Of Post Industrial Music From Balkan Region

    July 6, 2021 - By 

    The first of two releases related to our friend Raffaele Pezzella (who performs under the name Sonologyst) for today. This release from Unexplained Sounds Group is part of a series of compilations of experimental and dark ambient music concentrated in different regions.  This one is particularly special to me as, though my birth city is Los Angeles, those who know me well know that the Balkans has served as a second home to me over the years.  Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania all seem to be well-represented, and musically, each track is up…

  • Music

    Max Brody – MAXBRODYWORLD TV 2006​-​2007: THE SOUNDTRACK

    June 28, 2021 - By 

    If you haven’t heard the name Max Brody before, you probably know a lot of the bands he’s worked with: Ministry, the Test Apes, the Butthole Surfers, Scratch Acid, the Big Boys, Lubricated Goat and so many others.  He was a powerhouse drummer in the Austin Industrial music scene, but has since moved to the state of Washington in the Pacific Northwest, where he has been working on projects such as a rock documentary/travel blog which is, sadly, no more. Of particular interest is the project Fried Smiling which includes my old friend, business partner and a fine video director,…

  • Music

    Gadi Sassoon – Multiverse

    June 8, 2021 - By 

    Gadi Sassoon is an Italian sound designer and composer whose latest release comes from the venerable Los Angeles-based record label A Strangely Isolated Place.  I had only heard one track of his work before, this coming from ASIP’s 2020 Compilation.  Though impressive, it didn’t prepare me for one of the bleakest experiences I’ve had listening to ambient music I’ve had since, perhaps, mid-period Lustmord.  If you listen to this album on headphones, be forewarned: the sounds will reverberate in your bones for a while afterward, and I say this as a compliment.  The tracks swell and disperse in a way…

  • Music

    Noisesculptor & God Cancer – Wanderers In The 4th Dimension

    May 22, 2021 - By 

    Noise music is something you are either passionate for. or you loathe to the depths of your soul.  I say this because too many artists not only sound far too similar, it almost sounds like they insult the audience by turning on a vacuum cleaner and try to call that “music.”  It’s trash, nothing more.  That trick only worked once with Duchamp, and all his followers merely pose, tarnishing anything good in art. However, there is another angle to noise.  That of the sculpted, patiently crafted sturm und drang which allows for musical or cinemtic influences to further enhance their…

  • Music

    HIEMIS – La Chose

    May 20, 2021 - By 

    Gradual Hate Records has had a stream of excellent releases this year, but this album by HIEMIS, an artist out of Spain, is the best of the bunch.  This is dark, gothic (in the original sense, not the bad makeup sense), ethereal and would compare well to artists who made their mark with labels like Projekt Records, Cold Meat Industry or 4AD (think Dead Can Dance). What pleases my ears the most is the heavy, almost liquid-like sound that resonates so deeply in my speakers that I feel like I’m inside of a cave enjoying almost pure isolation.  It’s quite…

  • Music

    Various Artists – That Sounds Greek To Me | Apr 27 | Muses & Sirens

    May 10, 2021 - By 

    First, a debt of thanks goes to Dimitris Tsironis who took the time to send me this compilation for review.  His label, 1tracktape, is doing a great service exposing Greek experimental and avant-garde music to the world, and the quality of this compilation is superb.  What’s more, the label is unique in that it releases albums every New Moon and (most of) Full Moon dates.  I can’t say I’ve heard of any other labels maintaining such a specific schedule, so each moon that pops up will be an opportunity to check out what new releases Mr. Tsironis has in store for…