Iranian poet and balladeer Hushang Ebtehaj passed away on August 10, 2022, but left an incredibly rich body of work. This compilation, released by Tehran-based record label Khosousi, brings together Ebtehaj’s best interpreters, such as Mohammad Reza Sharjarian and his son Homayoun,as well as Alireza Eftekhari, Hossein Ghavami, Mohammad Motamedi Continue Reading
Downloads
Soyuz (Союз) – Force of the Wind (Сила ветра)
Belarus is not what one would think of as a Brazilian music hotspot, though, if my friends in the country could enlighten me to the local music scene, I would really appreciate it. Still, Soyuz, led by singer Alex Chumak blend a Brazil-meets-Santana-meets-funk beat and this album engages you quickly, Continue Reading
Dirty Three – Whatever You Love, You Are
The Dirty Three are Mick Turner, Jm White and Warren Ellis, and between them, they have worked with a who’s who of alternative music like P.J. Harvey, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and Nick Cave among others. What’s most impressive about their sound, however, is that they can sew together angular post-rock with a Continue Reading
Jeff Gburek – Five Broke Downe Homesick for the Open Road Medley Blues
Fresh recordings have been delivered by Jeff Gburek, and there are a few more in the pipeline, apparently, so 2022 will be a busy year for one of the blog’s favorites. From Jeff’s Bandcamp site: “Five Broke Downe Homesick for the Open Road Medley Blues came to me as the Continue Reading
Gleb Kolyadin – The Outland
Gleb Kolyadin is the pianist of Russian progressive rock band iamthemorning, but in this release, he has no problem mixing prog rock with jazz fusion. The album is full of guests, but perhaps the biggest one is King Crimson’s legendary bassist and Chapman stick player Tony Levin playing upright bass. Continue Reading
Joyce Moreno – Feminina (produced arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman)
Joyce Moreno (known mononymously simply as Joyce in Brazil) is one of the country’s finest exports, bringing a sultry and joyful voice to bossa nova, Música Popular Brasileira and jazz. She’s been covered by artists like Annie Lennox, Gerry Mulligan and Omara Portuondo, but this piece, a one-track opus, is Continue Reading
Living Pictures – No Headlights
Experimental / Trap project Living Pictures produced a one-track single that sounds like it would fit perfectly in a John Carpenter score. It’s bleak, but the synths are sensual in some weird way. I like what I’m hearing.
Peter Brötzmann / Keiji Haino Duo – The Intellect Given Birth To Here (Eternity) Is Too Young
Two of the greatest legends in free jazz and psychedelic rock, Keiji Haino and Peter Brötzmann, join forces after a long while in this four-album noise-fest. My understanding that the vinyl pressing on Black Editions, which includes a 3-inch CD, is long sold out, which is unfortunate, but a standard Continue Reading
S.E. Rogie – Further Sounds of S.E. Rogie
This is our second African gem this week, following the marvelously brutal release by Kenya’s Duma. This release by the late S.E. Rogie is a more relaxed, bluesy highlife affair from Sierra Leone. According to the Mississippi Records Bandcamp website, Rogie, “…went from running a tailor shop in Sierra Leone Continue Reading
Duma – Duma
Nyege Nyege Tapes out of Kampala, Uganda, is releasing some of the most brutal music in the world these days. A case in point comes from Nairobi, Kenya, where the band Duma call home. Within the first few seconds of this release, you get pummeled by a barrage of drumming Continue Reading