Though I’ve tagged it as contemporary classical music, as has the artist, the latest album by Aftab Darvishi is something more than that. It is classical music melded with regional music from Iran and electronics. A stunning album.
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This release, procured by Aural Films, is a tribute to Krautrock and Berlin-School legend Klaus Schulze, who passed away in April of 2022, and who would have been 75 years old today, far too young to have left us. From the compilation’s Bandcamp site: “Over a year ago, Jack Hertz approached me with the idea of following up his popular Klaus Schulze tribute compilation IN LOVE WITH THE MOON (2018) with a sequel. I suggested waiting a little longer and to focus on Klaus’ upcoming 75th birthday. Jack thought it was a great idea – who could have guessed that…
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SVBKVLT is a label based in Shanghai, China who have an international outlook. A perfect example is this band, the Egyptian artist Abadir, who works in the field of experimental electronic music and glitch.
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This gem is from one of Romania’s strangest composers. The music sounds made by Rodion Roșca range from a more industrial-era Cabaret Voltaire and Suicide to the wilder music of Giorgio Moroder. He passed away in March of 2021 at the age of 68, but he left a truly unique body of work behind, including this wonderful record. Derek Anderson of Derek’s Music Blog wrote a long and deep tribute to Rodion, and Derek was responsible for helping get his name out to the international public. A commendable article and truly, a commendable record.
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I can’t say where L’Aventure des Plantes are for sure, but their record label, Kotorosl Records, is from Barcelona, Spain. The music is highly influenced by Berlin School electronics, experimental music and ambient music, and they do honor to the genres.
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Greek experimental composer Savvas Metaxas has scored music for a choreography project that sounds more like a very relaxed version of electroacoustic music. It’s sumptuous headphone listening, I have to say. From his record label Noise Below’s Bandcamp site: “Savvas Metaxas’s music for the choreography/action ‘who knows where time goes – potential destination #1’, slightly modified for this release without losing the sense of experiencing its first steps and its ongoing development, making the listener feel like they are participating in the action. With a cover photo from Sofia Tolika’s amazing ‘mundus’ photobook, that toys with stasis/motion, and artwork by…
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I had the pleasure of watching Otomo Yoshihide perform live about 30 years ago in Los Angeles, and his turntable wizardry made me a lifelong fan. It pleases me to see that labels are still carefully releasing his body of work, and this album is among my favorites. The album is full of short snippets, records mixed together, sound samples layer one on top of the other, blended, stirred and shaken to make one of the best experimental music albums of the late 1990s. A must for turntablists.
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Douglas Tewksbury is an ambient musician out of, I believe, Canada. I am quite impressed with the spacious and elegant nature of his music. From his record label, HushHush’s Bandcamp site: “‘Brutes‘ serves as a follow-up Tewksbury’s debut album ‘Paths.’ Released by the boutique Dutch label Geertruida Records in June 2021, Paths signaled Tewksbury’s initial intersection of music with his full-time work as a professor and researcher. Currently teaching at Niagara University in Lewiston, New York with a specialization in the media’s role in interpreting and affecting the debate on climate change, Tewksbury’s academic work has taken him on travels…
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Lauri-Dag Tüür appeared on my previous blog in 2020 with what I believe was his debut album, and he’s gotten better since. This album clocks in at a bit over 40 minutes, and it’s one of the better examples of Kosmische Musik I’ve heard in some time done by a modern composer. The album is spacious and roomy, and takes a leisurely pace winding and unwinding while it travels around the universe, reminding me of artists like the late Klaus Schulze, Robert Rich, and in parts, fellow Estonian Sven Grünberg and his project, Mess.
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First, a debt of thanks goes to my friend, the “Last American Poet,” Shane Beck, for reminding me what a sublime album this is from Cousin Silas, who was a friend of my previous blog, and an artist whose work I respect immensely. This album is filled with wispy rhythms that let you relax and get lost in thought, something like melding George Winston with the Durutti Column, but with more of an edge to it. Our dear Cousin delivers yet again.