My first morning in Beijing gets its soundtrack thank to my friend Slava in Kazakhstan, who shared this slightly haunting bit of jazz fusion by polish bandleader Kuba Plużek. The swing on this album is dark but hip, and reminds me of the bands of his countryman, the long-departed Krzysztof Continue Reading
Downloads
Ivan Grebenschikov – The Endless Winter
I’ll be in-flight over South Korea by the time you’re reading this post, and I thought I’d leave you with an incredibly rich and diverse album by Russian pianist Ivan Grebenschikov and his group. The Endless Winter is his latest work, and it is a seamless combination of art-rock, contemporary Continue Reading
Omar Ahmad – Inheritance
Judging by the sole track available from AKP Recordings artist, the Brooklyn-based Palestinian-American Omar Ahmad, this album should be considered one of those albums you listen to at 3 a.m. in order to relax and be at one with God. The chilled out atmosphere of the track Lapses is shimmering, Continue Reading
Amoeba Split – Second Split
Of all the scenes I’ve always felt was neglected in prog, it was the Canterbury scene. That sub-genre which gave us Soft Machine, Caravan, National Health, Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers is of course big with specialist fans, but as the years have passed, it seems fewer and fewer listeners Continue Reading
bu.re_ – dream sequence ii
Too dense and sumptuous to be labeled ambient music, what Los Angeles’ own bu.re_ offers is a ride on the clouds on your way to something approximating Heaven. The drones emanating from these works are some of the warmest tones I’ve heard this year. Bravo.
Petar Vujačić – Made in Ovtočić: Songs from Montenegro
Amazing. The ever excellent Antonovka Records are now producing music outside of the former USSR. We have a description of the recordings below, courtesy of the label’s Bandcamp site: “Gusle (not to be confused with Russian gusli) is a Balkan (mainly Montenegrin and Serbian) bowed instrument. There is only one Continue Reading
Necrocock – Jan Žižka z Trocnova (Original Soundtrack)
Jan Žižka z Trocnova is a twelve-part series covering the life of Czech hero Jan Žižka, whose role in his nation’s history is indisputable despite fighting for Protestant heretics. Though I have never managed to watch the series, I did get a chance to enjoy the soundtrack scored by Tom Continue Reading
Joyce Moreno – Visions of Dawn
I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing Joyce Moreno’s music in November of 2022, and it looks like the legends at Far Out Recordings have found yet another long lost masterpiece by the Brazilian queen of Brazilian acid-folk. Does such a genre really exist?! Take a listen to the track Jardim Continue Reading
Rural District – Mint Blind Violet
Rural Track are a band out of Japan who do heavy shoegaze rock, so those of you who miss My Bloody Valentine’s peak moments would do well to check this track out.
Āustras Laīwan – Ephemerality of April Dreams
Friends of the blog Āustras Laīwan have released one of the most sublimely engaging albums I have heard recently. The tone is melancholy throughout, almost achingly so. There are parts where one feels like they’re opening up a ballerina box in an old Russian film. In terms of sound, it’s Continue Reading