What we have here is an experimental music supergroup. Makoto Kawabata and Hiroshi Higashi of acid-psych lords Acid Mothers Temple team up with the legendary guitarist Richard Pinhas (famed as the leader of the band Heldon, and still very much active under his own name). Joining them are two musicians from Peru in Manongo Mujica…
Tag: France
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…
Samo Salamon & Hasse Poulsen – String Dancers
Musicians never cease to amaze me. Despite the horrible conditions which have led to worldwide lockdown, artists like Samo Salamon, a guitarist out of Slovenia, and Hasse Poulsen, originally from Denmark, manage to weave together an acoustic guitar-only album of improvisations that don’t sound like what you normally associate with “improv.” It’s a mellow album,…
Valerio Orlandini – Syntagmata
Valerio Orlandini is a sound designer and composer from Firenze, Italy whose work reminds me of that of artists like French electroacoustic music composers like François Bayle or Michel Chion. It is, of course, dark, nearly claustrophobic, music. Yet it has a nice cinematic feel to it. He’ll be worth watching and listening to as…
DidJaws – Home Made Techno EP
DidJaws is a French lo-fi IDM producer who works with his compositions in an absolutely stripped-down manner, without the overproduction and cute tricks that some IDM-related artists rely on. This feels raw, and the ideas coming out of these songs feel fresh. Not a bad release at all, and it makes me wonder what work…
Venus Berry – Shibari
This is perhaps the coldest of cold wave releases I’ve ever had the pleasure of reviewing. Venus Berry is the nom de plume of Anouk Allard, who is not only a musician but has a background in visual art. Her style covers not only the aforementioned cold wave which the French seemed to dominate during…
Suzanne Belaubre – (DIY)
Record label and magazine La Souterraine offer the best indie music coming out of France these days. Their latest release by Suzanne Belaubre is bound to be a cold wave masterpiece. The tracks are short and the production is excellent, if sparse. That sparseness works well with the music, and it gives the music an…
Ghost Rhythms – Imaginary Mountains
The French band Ghost Rhythms live up to their name. The beats are pretty wild on this one. This release sets between avant-progressive, Canterbury, and some of the freakier excursions of late-period King Crimson. Perhaps Samla Mammas Manna and their side-projects could also make good reference points. Very engaging listening, especially if you like time…
Martin Chilton – Michel Petrucciani Overcame Enormous Odds To Become A World-Renowned Pianist
Martin Chilton at udiscovermusic.com writes on the difficult life and masterful playing of pianist Michel Petrucciani. A worthy read, which you can access here.
Julien Bigorgne – Monades
Julien Bigorgne is a flautist working out of Paris, France, who also happens to be an oud player. The music on this album is filmic, a soundtrack to a non-existent film. The music walks the line between soundtrack compositions of Yann Tiersen, jazz and world music (such a nebulous term, but until I find a…