• Music

    The Tapes – A Touch of Despair

    June 2, 2024 - By 

    Though the ever-amazing Unexplained Sounds Group have an impeccable record when it comes to releases, this one has the feel of a diamond hidden in the mouth of a long-lost corpse.  It’s a gem that should have seen the light of day ages ago, and USG have made things right by publishing this long-forgotten release by The Tapes.  From the USG Bandcamp site: “”A Touch of Despair” dates back to 1986. It was recorded live on a standard 2-track cassette recorder, using a 4-channel Fostex mixer, the infamous echo unit, a Korg MS-20, and toy instruments like a plastic trumpet.…

  • Music

    Shahin Souri – Liminal Space

    May 28, 2024 - By 

    Respect to Midira Records for publishing this work by Tehran-based composer Shahin Souri.  It is a most elegant take on ambient music.  There should be a better term for this, as the genre’s name is so badly abused these days, and this seems to transcend it.

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek – Raw Radio Dispatch For “RIAFC”

    May 21, 2024 - By 

    Many honorable composers of note were fascinated by radio static, and as someone who owned a shortwave radio in my youth, I happily admit to having the same fascination with such crunchy sound.  Our friend Jeff Gburek uses radio sounds for his latest release.  From his Bandcamp site: “This album combines a recent sequence of Shortwave radio capture performances from late April (tracks 1 – 11) and two VLF recordings from the X class solar flare and geomagnetic storm day May 11. Inspired to put this album out quickly after hearing what seemed to be a call for newly recorded…

  • Music

    stotrojka – Најубави

    May 11, 2024 - By 

    Kanal 103 FM is the best independent radio program in the whole of the Balkans, never mind Macedonia.  I’ve had many friends work there and produce amazing shows, so when Gjorgji Janevski let me know that this compilation was out, I rushed to hear it!  From stotrojka’s (the label associated with Kanal 103 FM) Bandcamp site: “Kanal 103 turns 33. Our birthday compilation is up. This time, Macedonian music only. A lots of first times and debuts, new and established names, some crazy pseudonyms, rockers going electronic, bedroom songs, postcards from our music diaspora, and also some rarities and archival…

  • Music

    Cousin Silas & Glove Of Bones – A Brief History Of…

    May 10, 2024 - By 

    Although I’m happy to say I’m a longtime fan of Cousin Silas’ work, I had no idea what to expect from Glove of Bones, a project I knew nothing about until reading their webpage.  I still know little about the band in terms of bio, but what a great impression they make on an album!  The album sounds like a combination of early ambient and a touch of Popol Vuh’s later, more acoustic moments; not that the album is acoustic, but the vibe is certainly similar.  An elegant album.  

  • Music

    Various Artists – The Jewel Garden: Clarities

    May 9, 2024 - By 

    Absolute respect to the estimable Ernesto Diaz-Infante for telling me about this noble cause.  Foxy Digitalis has a nearly 3o-year track record, first as a xeroxed zine, and the in its current digital incarnatiom, of reviewing what I would rate as the absolute best of non-mainstream music.  This compilation, featuring Ernesto, Lawrence English, Yann Novak, zàke, Stephen Vitiello and a number of names who are new to me, but no less impressive, have contributed tracks for the purpose of helping to keep Foxy Digitalis up and running.  Do consider a donation.  The magazine, as I hope is the case with…

  • Music

    Jos Smolders – Textuur 2 [ |||| – – – – ]

    May 8, 2024 - By 

    Dutch composer Jos Smolders, a friend of this site, has a new release out on Portugal’s Crónica Electronica Records.  This is a sample of the text associated with the album, which you can read in full here. “Each Textuur project is built up in a similar fashion. There are two groups of sound. First there are the collections which consist of samples of the original material. The other group consists of various permutations. The samples from the collections are torn apart into threads of various widths and subsequently rewoven into a new synthetic fabric. Sound is thus stripped from its…

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    Ernesto Diaz-Infante – Amor Celestial

    April 8, 2024 - By 

    Amor Celestial is the latest album by Bay Area guitar improviser Ernesto Diaz-Infante, release on Rambutan Records out of New York.  The album reminds me of waves gently crashing into the rock of the Pacific Coastline, ebbing and flowing as clouds of feedback surround each bend of the strings.  From the release’s Bandcamp site: “San Francisco-based Ernesto Diaz-Infante brings his complete mastery and open exploration of the electric guitar to Tape Drift. It’s an honor to present this deeply focused and heavy work from someone who has dedicated so many years to fearless sonic experimentation and improvisation. The cover art…

  • Music

    Senyawa – Istana (Live)

    April 6, 2024 - By 

    Today is a workday for us in Beijing, so there is no review today, but I did want to point you to an Indonesian band called Senyawa, who is featured on Rafaelle Pezzella’s incredible Unexplained Sounds Group‘s digipak retrospective called the Far East Music Collection.  It is a reissue of three seminal compilations covering experimental music from China, Indonesia and the Far East in general.  The set looks gorgeous, and Senyawa‘s contribution is mind-blowing.