• Music

    Plantec – Awen

    May 6, 2023 - By 

    It’s a bit of a tragedy that Breton music doesn’t get the same healthy push as, say, Scottish or Irish music does.  Outside of the absolutely legendary Alan Stivell, it’s rare to hear of great music coming out of this most unique of French provinces.  Thankfully, we have Plantec to bring forth something that I suppose could qualify as electro-Breizh.  The music simply rips with expert playing of Breton bagpipes, but there’s something that makes the music incredibly punchy and even danceable.  Though this release is from around 2012, the band are still quite active today and continue to innovate…

  • Music

    Alister Fawnwoda – Night Bunny (feat. Suzanne Ciani) – [Carla Azar Reconstruction]

    May 4, 2023 - By 

    I’m new to the music of Alister Fawnwoda, but not to Suzanne Ciani, whose work is immeasurably important.  The thought of hearing these two collaborate was pretty intriguing, and the wait to hear this track was indeed rewarding. The track clocks in at just under 5 minutes, and is a gently sloping listen.  Adding to this particular recording is that it is reworked by Carla Azar of Autolux and Jack White’s backing band fame. After going through other tracks of Alister’s work, I have to say he’s earned a new fan.  His blending of ambient music, Americana and even a…

  • Music

    D​ž​iunglių Dvasios – Urban Jungle

    April 28, 2023 - By 

    D​ž​iunglių Dvasios is, from what I understand, a drum & bass/downtempo project run by Evaldas Azbukauskas, who also records as Girių Dvasios. The beats are heavy and dubby with a bit of soul singing sampled into the tracks. Not quite easy listening, but pleasant in its own way.

  • Music

    Groove Paradise – 欲望

    April 27, 2023 - By 

    I have to say that I know next to nothing about vaporwave and the history of the scene.  Most of what I’ve heard is, to put it mildly, awful.  However, Groove Paradise, a Spanish artist, left me with a more positive view of the genre.  The music sounds like something you would hear on 1980’s mainstream radio, with AOR, funk and soul influences, only underwater.  I was a teenager during the 80’s, so hearing the music left me with a very pleasant sense of nostalgia.  If this is truly representative of vaporwave, then then album is done well.

  • Music

    Lumber – The Lotus Bros

    April 10, 2023 - By 

    Our dear friend Hubert Heathertoes collaborated with Roger Smith (he of some rather amazing experimental music projects like CHEFKIRK) as Lumber for a drony, well-sculpted collection of noise compositions.  It’s such a pleasure to hear noise that is well-done, well-composed, rather than the boring vacuum-cleaner-like garbage that pollutes most of the so-called harsh noise scene.

  • Music

    Vidna Obmana – Dante Trilogy: Tremor . Spore . Legacy

    March 30, 2023 - By 

    Dirk Serries has kept his Industrial/Fourth World project Vidna Obmana alive since 1984, but this release for metal label Relapse Records will be his coup de grace.  Loosely based on Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, this 3-CD set covers all the music genres Serries has worked in over the past four decades.  From his Bandcamp site: “An almost his 25 year existency as VIDNA OBMANA Dirk Serries never shied away from challenges, sometimes to the regret of many of his fans, but it’s when he was offered a record deal with the renowned metal label RELAPSE RECORDS/RELEASE ENTERTAINMENT Vidna Obmana took…

  • Music

    O Yuki Conjugate – A Tension of Opposites Vols 3 & 4

    March 13, 2023 - By 

    O Yuki Conjugate are among the top-tier post-Industrial/experimental projects of the past 40 years, and it’s been an amazing experience going over their catalog over the past few weeks in my personal collection.  This is archival material and a complement to A Tension of Opposites Vols 1 & 2.  From the band’s Bandcamp site: “Two years after the first two volumes of A Tension of Opposites (ATOO) were issued OYC return to the form they created to house their looser more exploratory works. ATOO allows them to expand their musical horizons and release their music more expediently. The original ATOO…