• Music

    Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 1 (Car)

    July 19, 2021 - By 

    It’s safe to assume that the vast majority of my friends and readers know who Peter Gabriel is.  I don’t think there’s been a more important pop singer in the last 40 or so years, and it’s really a pleasant surprise to see him put the whole of his catalog on Bandcamp. This album is my favorite of the back catalog, as it was his first after leaving the band Genesis.  Car is a collection of songs that sound like Gabriel was undergoing a creative explosion, mixing heavy rock, progressive, and you could hear a strong imprint from guest musicians…

  • Music

    TienYinMen – Between Clouds (雲峽)

    July 18, 2021 - By 

    TienYinMen are a collection of composers and musicians based in Hong Kong who release a lot of thematic soundtrack music played on traditional instruments and electronic instruments.  They have a healthy body of work to choose from, and I found this one to be the best out of a great lot.  I can see why they would be in demand for scoring TV programs as well as theater.

  • Music

    John Tejada & Ulrich Krieger – Silversonic

    July 17, 2021 - By 

    Two legends from rather different backgrounds collaborate on this EP. Austrian-American DJ John Tejada is a legend in electronic music as has thrived in the scene as a sought-after remixer.  I had the pleasure of meeting him several times while working at a record shop in Los Angeles during the 1990s, and it pleases me to no end how far his career has taken off. Ulrich Krieger is a composer, improviser and experimental rock musician from Germany whose work you may have heard either as a composer or interpreter of contemporary classical music with Zeitkratzer/ or as a member of…

  • Music

    Muito Kaballa Power Ensemble – Mamari

    July 16, 2021 - By 

    Fiddling around on the Youtube stream today as I have the house to myself, I came across a video of this album, and within the first second or so, I got hooked into a mix of Malian blues, funk, Cuban rhythms and a general Afrobeat vibe.  Muito Kaballa are a nine-piece band based in Cologne, Germany, and the label releasing this charmer is Rebel Up Records, a fine imprint out of Belgium.

  • Music

    Black Ink Stain – Incidents

    July 14, 2021 - By 

    Our friends over at P.O.G.O. Records have released a record which relates very well with acts like Big Black and The Jesus Lizard.  Black Ink Stain are from Belgium, and I have to say this album is as brutal as anything labels like Touch & Go Records released at their peak.  The production is a bit raw, but it makes the album sound like an authentic post-punk record.  The magazine Muzzart does a good review of the album in French here.

  • Music

    Kaelin Bougneit – Geograph

    July 13, 2021 - By 

    After a few dark albums, I thought I would share something that, while also a bit darker than normal, shows shades of the Berlin School and rather gentle Industrial soundscapes.  Kaelin Bougneit is a composer and label owner (Subviolet Records) based out of Portland, Oregon, and this particular album has elements of not only classic ambient music, but of tones I tie to old TV programs like “In Search Of…” with Leonard Nimoy.  This triggered some pleasant memories for me, indeed.

  • 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

    Båul – Camel [شتر]

    July 11, 2021 - By 

    Båul have managed to release an album which travels the world while residing in the beautiful state of Colorado.  They mix Arabic, Russian, Hebrew and other music together into a cohesive, energetic album.  Really fun listening.

  • Music

    Various Artists – The Psychedelic Sounds of The Blog That Celebrates Itself, Volume II

    July 10, 2021 - By 

    The Blog That Celebrates Itself was a website and record label based out of São Paolo, Brazil which dedicates itself to promoting shoegaze and other underground artists from all over the world, of course specializing in young Brazilian acts. This particular comp leans more towards pop-psych music, with covers from bands such as the Velvet Underground and Herman’s Hermits done in a drone-like, hazy fashion.  The blog and the label are worthy reading.

  • 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…