This is perhaps one of the most beautifully stunning acousmatic works I’ve ever heard. Every percussive strike of the piano had me transfixed while listening, so much so that I wasn’t able to do my normal routine of working while listening to music. Our dear friend Benjamin Aït-Ali took a Continue Reading
France
Les Mamans du Congo & Rrobin – Les Mamans du Congo & Rrobin
Simply gorgeous and resonating music here, courtesy from a French-Conoglese project called Les Mamans du Congo & Rrobin. The project is described as “…a unique encounter between Bantu lullabies from the Congo, electronic music and hip-hop.”
Domenique Dumont – People on Sunday
I came across a “composer” (really, a duo) based in Riga, Latvia called Domenique Dumont. The pair consist of Latvian multi-instrumentalist and producer Arturs Liepins and vocalist, ethnomusicologist Anete Stuce, and they have produced a shimmering, gentle piece of electronic music. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “People On Sunday is Continue Reading
Christophe Rieger/H.J. Ayala – Mexican Spleen
Longtime friend of the blog Hector Javier Ayala collaborates with saxophonist Christophe Rieger to produce a slow, languid jazz album which has reference points in spaghetti western soundtracks and bossa nova, as well a touch of music from Mexico.
Christian Fiesel – Avant Que Nous Soyons Tous Partis Pour Toujours
Hail! to our friends at Kalamine Records in France for producing yet another fine dark ambient/drone/post-Industrial masterpiece. There’s a lot of drama and pathos in this recording by Christian Fiesel, sounding very much like it would be a fine updated soundtrack to any good expressionist film of the early 1920s Continue Reading
Plantec – Awen
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 Continue Reading
PoiL Ueda – PoiL Ueda
This is a heavy, near-monstrous release involving Japanese singer and bassis Junko Ueda and the French avant-prog group PoiL. From their Bandcamp site: “PoiL Ueda is the result of a collaboration between Junko Ueda, a vocalist and satsuma-biwa player from Japan, and PoiL, a French rock/contemporary music band. The creation Continue Reading
Skáld – Huldufólk
Your browser does not support iframes. The French collective Skáld come as a revelation to me. These are Frenchmen who expertly perform Nordic music and imbue it with everything from folk music to metal. From the band’s press release: “As the heirs of the ancient poets known as skalds, Continue Reading
Vaudou Game – Pas Contente
Though these tracks are from 2014, this scorcher by Vadou Game, one of Togo’s funkiest bands, features two tracks that will appeal to funk aficionados, especially the title track. Also, James Brown fans, take note. You’re going to love the grooves on this tune.
Wintermute – Summersnitch
The esteemed French label Lotophagus Records released an album by Wintermute on December 2, and it’s a rather deep, dark and dubby affair, mixing trip-hop, the aforementioned dub and experimental rock music into something which reminds me of Cabaret Voltaire’s more dub-infested moments, or even acts like Scorn.