As the name implies, Pete Swinton’s latest album is a series of gorgeous soundscapes that remind one of a more organic version of artists like Steve Roach and Robert Rich, but with more of a field recording vibe. Very nice for headphones.
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Jettenbach were reviewed here once before, and as I quite enjoyed this noisy ambient drone work touched with elements of post-Industrial and Kosmische Kraut, I thought it good to share some new work by the project.
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I’m used to expecting amazing things from composer and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Gburek, and certainly so when he pairs with violinist Karolina Ossowska, but this is a shockingly good album even with such expectations. The album has four compositions which are about as gentle and pleasing as anything I’ve heard in the past few years. It’s farther out than, say, Kosmische Musik, yet elegantly restrained. This is music for taking an inner journey and finding what terrain lies inside of yourself. Don’t think of missing this one, I implore you.
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This work by Chinese composers Li Hongqi (violin) and Yang Haison (theremin) is a 52-minute piece of droning experimental music. The feeling of the recording reminds me of early Industrial music and it flows rather nicely. Thanks to storerecords out of Beijing for releasing this.
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I receive a double blessing for this release. I have the privilege of pointing my readers to a wonderful boutique label out of Brazil called z0 who are producing quality experimental music, and I add to this the joy of introducing more music from Pete Swinton, whose work has really caught my attention (thanks, in part, to Jeff Gburek). There are two tracks on this album. The first, Blizzard In Antarctica, clocks in at 15 minutes, and is as cold and noisy as you would expect such a natural phenomenon to be. It’s noise in a sense, but sculpted and…
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Heejin Jang is a sound designer and composer from Seoul, South Korea who makes noise unlike other composers in the genre. The sounds are more subdued, sculpted, and in many ways, engaging listening. It’s not anti-music, but something abrasive, yet pleasing, to listen to. From her Bandcamp site: “The Korean producer’s new album features the most intricate and brutal tracks of her career. Here, she presents mosaics of sound that endlessly mutate and rearrange themselves in elegant ways. Jang’s ability to position harsher sections against moments of unnerving calmness provokes the listener into a variety of mental states, including panic,…
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I remember the Beijing lockups very well, as I lived in the city during the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Some residents in Beijing, including the trio of Li Jianhong, Wen Zhiyong and Deng Boyu, made incredibly good use of the time and recorded an album of music combining free improvisation, electronics and ancient instruments such as gudi (bone flute) and trumpet. A sonically stunning album. Respect to WV Sorcerer Productions (巫唱片), who continue to release quality Chinese new music.
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Our friends at Unexplained Sounds Group continue their ambient and experimental music travelogue series, this time concentrating on wonderful Latin America. From their Bandcamp site: “After almost 6 years from the latest compilation focused on experimental music from Latina America, finally Unexplained Sounds Group publishes a cd release including, in addition to some of the musicians who participated in the initial project, many other artists from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile and Venezuela, thereby providing evidence of continuous aesthetic research beyond all conventional barriers.” The label is a treasure of the genre, and I await what…
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Harold Bertram, a sound designer out of Germany who works under the name 1414E08 collaborates with The Last American Poet, Shane Beck. Shane’s calming voice and choice of subject matter, the infamous American horror-meister H. P. Lovecraft are expertly couched by Bertram’s horror-drone soundtrack. Remarkable.
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Lost Tribe Sound delivers the goods again. This album comes to us from the band Arrowounds out of Athens, Ohio, and it sounds like something emanating from the most brutal part of the Rust Belt. It is fine listening for it, as the droning noise feels almost cinematic in scope.