• Music

    Ferran Fages – Llum Moll

    I’ve had the pleasure of reading about Farren Fages‘ work for at least 20 years now, but I never had a chance to fully explore his work.  I’m happy to say that I regret not diving into his catalogue earlier.  It’s impressive, to say the least. This particular album, Llum Moll, is a 41-minute audio sculpture which was originally released in 2012.  According to his notes on the Bandcamp page hosting this release, “The composition was made in two parts. The first was to record and then select fragments with different lengths, pitches and textures. The second was to re-adjust…

  • Music

    Zacharivna Pisnya Ensemble – Petropavlovka: Songs of Ukrainians from Kyrgyzstan

    The Zacharivna Pisnya Ensemble are made up of ethnic Ukrainians who reside in the republic of Kyrgyzstan, and have existed as a group since 1902.  Though some of their names have been Russified, they maintain their cultural ties to Ukraine via song. Antonovka Records have done astounding work documenting such ensembles throughout Russia and Central Asia, and they should be commended for maintaining such high quality throughout each release.

  • Music

    稷廬 / jì lú – 山與客聽 / Mountain, Traveler, Listener

    The Sichuan, China-based Jì Lú (稷廬) are a new project that has connections with one of China’s most innovated bands, Raflum.  The instrumentation on this album is sparse, but it makes for good listening, as bamboo flute and guitar seem to blend pleasantly. Some notes regarding the release: When talking about landscapes in the traditional context, it’s mostly about reclusion.  Although true recluses are rare, the mountains and rivers are always there.  Ironically,  the real landscapes are actually “horrible nature” instead of some leisure place.  The traditional landscape paintings are a kind of “tame nature,” which were described as “To observe with meditation, and lie down to experience” and “Sitting in the forest and spring instead of go to banquet” by ancient Chinese poets.  It emerge at North and South Dynasty, then become a game of finding the essence during the Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, and finally stuck in the static self-development after the Ming and Qing Dynasties.  The development of landscape paintings are just like how people detach with the nature and entering urban life.  This album is the continuation of this thesis.  In a time when the virtual reality are replacing urban life, we attempt to reinterpret this cliche with improvisation that based on the topic of “landscape.”  We also naming the songs by minutes and seconds instead of the traditional way of titling the songs, which is based on its imagery.  That creates interactive between the “teller” and listener, and reflects the beauties for individuals due to their own aesthetic experiences.  At this time, the distant, outmoded, cumbersome and vague image of landscape might leave a huge space for “starting again.” Instrumental by Liu Zhu (bamboo flute) /Qi Ya (Guitar) Recorded by Qi Ya at Ningbo、Hanzhou、 in 2016-2018 and Liu Zhu at New York in 2016 Mixed and Mastered by Qi Ya Artwork and Layout by Qi Ya Released by Pest Productions 在傳統語境中說到山水,多半關乎隱逸,真隱逸不常有,而真山水常有。葉公好龍的是,真山真水其實是「可怕的自然」,並非閒居宴坐的所在。山水畫作為一種「馴服的自然」,即古人說的「澄懷觀道,臥以游之」、「不下堂筵,坐窮林泉」,自南北朝鮮嫩的發端,五代兩宋的窮其理而後成為一種遊戲,到明清之後陳陳相因的體系內繁殖——其蓬勃發展的歷史反而是與人的身體離開自然山林而進入人工城市的歷史併行的。這張專輯也是對這一母題的延續。在人的身體都快離開人工城市而進入虛擬現實的環境下,給重複了上千年的「陳腔濫調」再增添一次重釋,帶著「山水」這一母題,以即興演奏的方式完成整張錄音。在曲目的定名上,也避開中國傳統的「意象命題」式標題,只以分秒為替代,在「說」與聽之間,帶著各自的審美體驗,進行一次互動,映照各自心中的佳山水。此時,山水形象的遙遠、陳舊、累贅和模糊或許又給「重新出發」以很大的空間。 演奏:六貯(竹管樂器)/ 栖崖(吉他) 錄音:六貯/栖崖 混音/母帶處理:栖崖 錄音時間:2016年04月至2018年11月 錄音地點:寧波 / 杭州 /…

  • Music

    Stijn Hüwels & Tomoyoshi Date – 遠き火、遠き雲’ ​(​A Distant Fire​,​ A Distant Cloud)

    laaps Records is a French label releasing quality ambient music.  This one seems to be their latest, a calming wash of sounds composed by Belgian composer Stin Hüwels in collaboration with the Brazilian-Japanese composer and sound artist (and emergency room doctor!) Tomoyoshi Date. The music is a mix of organic and electronic sounds, gentle plonking tones, and a very, very relaxed atmosphere.  This could be music to sleep to, and I mean this as a high compliment. From their Bandcamp site: 遠き火、遠き雲 (Tōki Hi, Tōki Kumo / A Distant Fire, A Distant Cloud) is the second collaboration by Tomoyoshi Date and…

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek with Ilaria Boffa – Reifications // Minimal Animal // Reanimations

    Another Akashic Records masterpiece.  This imprint never fails for me. Jeff Gburek works with Italian composer, researcher and poet Ilaria Boffa to make a hazy, deeply psychedelic piece of musique concrète.  The three works on this album are sonic storytelling, layering voice on voice, and  is perhaps the best way I can describe this release.  Sublime, but I expect no less from the parties involved.

  • Music

    Lance Austin Olsen | Terje Paulsen – Nattinsekter

    Though I am familiar with the great experimental musician Terje Paulsen, I have not yet heard the works of Lance Austin Olsen, and I’m impressed with this pair’s use of field recordings and instruments into one organic whole. From Lance Austin Olsen’s Bandcamp site: Nattinsekter (night insects) developed from my ongoing graphic score A Night On The Veldt, which references my childhood in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and the many times I was out at night with my father on the veldt listening to the nocturnal soundscape. The sounds from the veldt have continued since the beginning of time and will…

  • Music

    Hideki Umezawa & Andrew Pekler – Two Views Of Amami Oshima

    Electroacoustic music inspired by painting and field recordings done in the Ryuku Islands off the coast of the Japanese mainland.  This definitely caught my attention.  Edições CN out of Antwerp, Belgium released this album in 2020, and it features the works of Japanese composer Hideki Umezawa and the Samarkand, Uzbekistan born resident of Berlin, Andrew Pekler. The back story of this release comes to us from their Bandcamp site: In 1958 the painter Isson Tanaka (°22 July 1908 – *11 September 1977) moved to Amami Ōshima, an island in the Ryukyus. There, in self-chosen isolation, he committed himself exclusively to…

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek – Three New Albums

    We have the tremendous pleasure of announcing three new albums by composer Jeff Gburek. The first album is in collaboration with his partner Karolina Ossowska, who plays violin, ocarina and kalimba on this release.  Gburek performs on zither, mandolin, miniature bandura and something called a blue-sky instrument, something new to me.  The music is quiet, thoughtful, and meditative.  It was a relaxing experience hearing Jeff’s and Karolina’s interplay. The next release deals with shortwave radio sounds.  This is in keeping with the best of experimental music, where one lets the noises speak for themselves.  Jeff states: Flux and Permittivity is…