• Music

    Phil Tomsett & Aaron Martin – At Sea

    We have had the pleasure of reviewing the work on cellist Aaron Martin in the past, but it’s nice to see a new release with him collaborating on a project with accordeonist Phil Tomsett which, ironically, began in London.  From the release’s Bandcamp site: “At Sea grew out of my walks along a particular part of the coastline. I took this walk at least once a day and over time built up a relationship with the sea, as if it were a sentient being observing me as much as I was observing it. Here I was trapped on dry land…

  • Music

    Karolina Ossowska & Jeff Gburek – Ariadne’s Thread

    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.

  • Music

    Bana Haffar – Genera – Live at AB Salon, Brussels

    Touch Records has introduced so many experimental recording composers to the world in its 40 years of existence that it’s hard to keep up with them.  This latest release by Saudi-American composer Bana Haffar immediately spins a web for you to get tied into her shimmering compositions.  Found sounds and acoustic instruments feel and sound perfectly balanced, a feat made more impressive since this is a live recording.

  • Music

    Li Jianhong (李劍鴻 ) & Wen Zhiyong (文智湧) & Deng Boyu (鄧博宇) – 歲​寒​三​友 Les Trois Amis de l’Hiver

    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.

  • Music

    Various Artists – Anthology Of Experimental Music From Latin America

    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…

  • Music

    Sonologyst – Electrons (New Edition)

    Our friend Sonologyst (Raffaele Pezzalla) has released his first project of 2023, and it’s a deep listen, taking the existence of electrons as its subject matter.  From his Bandcamp site: “As the theory of the atom, quantum mechanics is perhaps the most successful theory in the history of science. It enables physicists, chemists, and technicians to calculate and predict the outcome of a vast number of experiments and to create new and advanced technology based on the insight into the behaviour of atomic objects. But it is also a theory that challenges our imagination. It seems to violate some fundamental…

  • Music

    Ani Zakareishvili – Fallin

    Ani Zakareishvili has produced a work of genius – something that feels like it would have fit in the classic movie The Shining, with its surreal, hazy feel to it.  From Warm Winters Ltd.’s Bandcamp site: “Tbilisi, Georgia-based artist Ani Zakareishvili joins the Warm Winters Ltd. roster with a hazy, phantasmic EP titled ‘Fallin’. Centred around crackling piano loops and edited snippets of Eartha Kitt’s interview from 1982, Zakareishvili ponders on the meaning of “falling in love” and reveals a deeply resonant layer of her work. This is hypnagogic, hushed music, untroubled yet profound, which somehow waltzes past you in…

  • Music

    Pete Swinton – The Book Of Chuang-Tzu, Ch. 18

    Zhuang Zhou is the pinyin transliteration of Chuang Tzu, the Chinese taoist philospher who lived some time during the 4th century B.C. during the Warring States Period, and was part of a movement where Chinese philosophy enjoyed an explosive period of development.  He is the subject of the album being reviewed, and it’s nice to have composer Pete Swinton bring his name up after such a long absence. Why he is mentioned in relation to the music is a mystery, as the first six tracks, according to Swinton himself, are meant to imitate insect sounds.  After a deep listening, I…

  • Music

    Methuzelah (Jeff Gburek & Pete Swinton) – First Album

    Today is an auspicious day, as I’m proud to say that this is the 700th consecutive post this blog has produced since January 1, 2021.  The release is one I held onto for such an occasion, as Jeff Gburek, heavily featured on my site for the astounding quality of his work, pairs with Pete Swinton, a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Java, Indonesia.  The music has a hazy, lo-fi psychedelic rock quality to it, and the pieces on this album feel alive.  You get the sense that you’re not only listening to the album, but it’s crawling inside of you. …