When I hear the words Avant-garde in relation to contemporary classical music, I think normally of some me composers who pull out old, clichéd tropes. This release from Kenyan composer Nyokabi Kariuki is so stunningly weird that the album has given itself the right to be termed Avant-garde correctly.
Drone
Chris Child & Micah Frank – Tape Pieces Vol. 3
Chris Child & Micah Frank are two incredible composers out of the New England area of the United States. From this particular release’s Bandcamp site: Tape Pieces Vol. 3 represents the final installment in the collaboration between composer/producer Chris Child (Kodomo) and sound artist Micah Frank. Volume 3 culminates in Continue Reading
Mansur – Minotavrvs
Bassist Jason Köhnen has a deep pedigree in the world of darkjazz. He was a member of the profoundly interesting Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble out of The Netherlands, and he’s now participating in a new project with Dimitry El-Demerdashi (ex-Phurpa) and Martina Horváth on vocals. As noted on Mansur’s Bandcamp site: Continue Reading
Federico Mosconi – Air Sculptures
Our friends at Lost Tribe Sound have at least three releases coming up which will be reviewed here. I’m pretty excited to introduce you to ambient composer Federico Mosconi, whose compositions feel cavernous, made more impressive that he’s pulling this together with guitar and effects. For those of you who Continue Reading
Gang Violins – Greater Forces
Hear me out on this one. Gang Violins, a duo out of New Zealand, released a single to their upcoming album Inner Realms, and it’s a well-crafted mix of cinematic ambient music and post-rock, but it triggered a memory of the subtle buildup to the song Where The Streets Have Continue Reading
Orphan Sound System – Tantric Tantrums
Experimental music isn’t a genre that avails itself to the power trio. In this case, however, Jeff Gburek, John El-Manahi and John Palumbo should be given such a venerable title. The music they produce as Orphan Sound System is reminiscent of vintage progressive rock bands like Faust or Cranioclast but with Continue Reading
JOHN 3:16 – Because I could Not Stop for Death...
Because I could Not Stop for Death... is a quote from poet Emily Dickinson, and listening to JOHN 3:16 interpret it is a pleasant experience, as the music on this one-track single is sweeping and cinematic, a touch different from his other work.
FRKTL – Prose Edda
FRKTL is the nom de plume of British-Egyptian composer Sarah Badr, and her work straddles so many genres that it’s quite hard to describe accurately (a wonderful thing, as it means her work is incredibly fresh-sounding). There are, of course, long, drone-y elements to the music, but once you go Continue Reading
Assembly Of Honey – Морозные Узоры (Frost Patterns)
Assembly Of Honey are a magnificent Russian ambient drone project related to the magazine Meticulous Midgets, friends of our blog. Their latest album has several tracks which would appeal to meditative musicians like Steve Roach, but also to New Age artists like Kitaro and even experimental bands like Britain’s O Continue Reading
Mong Tong 夢東 – Mystery 秘神
We had the pleasure of reviewing Mong Tong last year. They have produced yet another surreal post-progressive electronic gem. On this album, there are elements of post-rock, modified traditional Taiwanese music, but also the eerie grooves which would do bands like Goblin proud, as the creepiness is quite subtle. Read Continue Reading