Spain’s legendary Munster Records introduces the world outside of Central America to Los Robbins! From the Bandcamp site: “Los Robbins revolutionized the Central America music scene with their mix of rocksteady, ballad, flamenco and surf music. Ten songs recorded between 1967 and 1970, reissued for the first time.”
I don’t remember Somewhere in Time as being a classic movie, but the film was enjoyable and starred Christopher Reeve (of Superman fame) and Jane Seymour. It’s fun to hear a much darker take of the soundtrack coming from composer Scott Lawler. This would have made the film a much more emotionally gloomy affair.
From the Wajazz Series Bandcamp page: “Universounds, HMV Record Shop and 180g team up for an exceptional release: from blazing hard bop to free jazz, to introspective saxophone solos and massive big band sounds, renowned Japanese jazz expert Yusuke Ogawa presents an essential 14 track collection of “WaJazz” music taken from the Nippon Columbia vaults. Featuring Jiro Inagaki, Minoru Muraoka, Hiroshi Suzuki, Hozan Yamamoto, Count Buffalo, Takeshi Inomata, and much more!”
This is the second time I have the pleasure to share the work of Bay Area guitarists Ezra Sturm and Ernesto Diaz-Infante. Maybe it is because this is recorded live, but I get the vibe of something crossing free-improvisation, lo-fi garage guitar and something that reminds me of the work of SST Records boss Greg Ginn. Minimal, noisy, but this works well!
One of my good friends presented this breakbeat treasure to me a couple days ago. It’s published in Spain, and here are some notes from their Bandcamp site: “With his latest EP, It’s Cancelled, featuring diffused electronics on the A-Side and menacing drum infestations on the B-Side, Serge Geyzel keeps pounding beats and bass into oblivion. Adepta Editions expertly compiles these recordings onto vinyl and digital media, emphasizing timeless limited editions. While “Take Your Time And Be Mine” deftly walks the line between Plaid-infused melodics and Clark’s shuffling rhythms, “Before the Silence Came” features fuzzy electrical sound fields that eventually…
In honor of getting the chance to see the band this evening here in Beijing, I share with you a recent EP by London-based nu-jazz band Alfa Mist. It turns out that they put on a hell of a performance to a packed crowd, mainly of locals. It was one of the best shows I’ve been to in some time now.
Mississippi Records released a collection of field recordings covering local music from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. These were recorded between November 1976 and January 1978.
巴亚宛 Bayawan are heavy psychedelic muqam music from Xinjiang. From Old Heaven Books’ Bandcamp site: “”Bayawan” is the common name for Muqam music used by the Dolan people. Bayawan, or Dolan Muqam, is a unique form of folk music and one of the most important cultural heritages of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China. Generally speaking, Muqam is a form of large-scale suites which include songs, dances, and instrumental sections, in which the development of music often features a significant degree of improvisation. The Muqam of the Uyghurs is characterized by its diversity of musical styles. Apart from the classical Twelve…
Sometimes experimental music can produce either dour listening or tie itself to miserable cover art showing the worst of humanity in some sort of fetishistic way. Not so with this release! London-based Chinese composer Li Yilei’s album concentrates more of a happy, carefree childhood, where, as she puts it, “…learn[ed] about fear and fearlessness, love and despair, grief and glee, curiosity and mistakes.” Sitting back and listening to this after hearing my own Chinese geography students caterwauling for nearly two hours is balm for the soul. A gentle listen that deserves a more appropriate tag than “experimental,” as much as…
Though the ever-amazing Unexplained Sounds Group have an impeccable record when it comes to releases, this one has the feel of a diamond hidden in the mouth of a long-lost corpse. It’s a gem that should have seen the light of day ages ago, and USG have made things right by publishing this long-forgotten release by The Tapes. From the USG Bandcamp site: “”A Touch of Despair” dates back to 1986. It was recorded live on a standard 2-track cassette recorder, using a 4-channel Fostex mixer, the infamous echo unit, a Korg MS-20, and toy instruments like a plastic trumpet.…