Øystein Jørgensen should need no introduction to those who follow ambient experimental music. He has been quiet over the past few years, but I came across this old recording from 2010 which showcases his more sound designer influences.
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We are sad to report that German indie record label Engram Recordings has ceased operating. They have, thankfully, decided to leave their catalog online as long as Bandcamp exists. This sampler is a great way to get to know about their quirky releases.
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A rather lovely effort by a Carnatic singer out of Singapore called Sushma Soma. From her Bandcamp site: “HOME is Sushma’s reflection on her relationship with Nature and the Environment and her response to the events around the world that have impacted her. Using Carnatic music as the foundation in this album and exploring sounds from our everyday lives that impact our environmental landscapes, the album attempts to aurally paint a picture of Man, Nature and the interconnectedness between them both.”
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The Last American Poet, Shane Beck, collaborates with dark ambient composer and luminary Mike Benoit in a haunting, cinematic, Poe-like piece of spoken word.
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Helen Svoboda is a Finnish-Australian composer, double bassist and singer whose work reminds me in some way of Laurie Anderson’s work, but perhaps denser and more lush. This makes for a pretty phenomenal listen.
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Kassyus Clay come to us from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and sound nothing like samba or bossa nova. Instead, they bring a brutal instrumental sound that crosses post-rock with Sonic Youth.
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Prepare yourselves for January 19, ten days from now! The legendary Scanner (Robin Rimbaud in real life) has a new album out, “…a tribute to the early 1960s library music culture, applying crude techniques of electronic composition, using a mix of hardware and software. It explores a kind of musique concrète, electroacoustic character, in an otherworldly cinematic fashion.” This will be a departure from his more experimental work, and should be a joy to listen to. It will be released on Alltagsmusik, “a new label to release Scanner albums.”
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Sergey Kuryokhin was as fine a composer as he was an improvisor. The Divertissement Orchestra, led by violinist Ilya Ioff, reinterprets one of Kuryokhin’s finest compositions from his album The Sparrow Oratorium. Well-played, indeed. Alisa Ten: vocals [1, 2, 4] Vera Chekanova: vocals [2, 3, 4] Lidia Kovalenko: violin [1], viola [2, 3] Mikhail Blekher: honky-tonk [1], celeste [2], piano [3, 4], harpsichord [4] Vladimir Volkov: double bass [4] Ivan Chernobaev: percussion Ilya Ioff: violin [1, 3, 4], drums programming [3]
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Adam Majdecki-Janicki (a.k.a. Adam Kaufmann) is one of the leading lights in the Polish neo-psychedelic rock music scene. This album serves as a good introduction to the broad palette of his work.
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Sad news to report today, as former Amon Düül II guitarist, oudist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Karrer passed away on January 2, 2024. We honor him by sharing a North Africa-influenced work of his from 2018 called The Mask. The back story is rather interesting, and that story can be read by clicking the link here.