This album by Caamaño & Ameixeiras is a pleasant surprise from the pater patriae, so to speak. It’s traditional music from the region of Galicia in Spain, heavily inspired by Celtic mythology. Though the instrumentation is basic for this sort of music (accordion, violin), there’s an intangible spark to the Continue Reading
Galicia
Carmela & Carme López – Vinde Todas
This is something of a live music artifact containing not only the work of avant-garde gaitera Carme López but that of some of the best names of the Celtic music scene in Spain.
Kaleikia – Makali
Some heavy progressive rock from Galicia, one of my paternal ancestral homelands: “Makali (from the Bubi Makálé/Makòlé) was a drill born free in the jungles of Bioko, in Equatorial Guinea. He was captured by humans and sold to Galician sailors who took him to Meaño. There he lived with his Continue Reading
Luciano Margorani – Dario D’Alessandro – Chris Cutler – Triangolazioni
Our friends at áMARXE have released a wonderful collaboration between Luciano Margorani, Dario D’Alessandro and the legendary Chris Cutler. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “This project started in April 2012 when I asked Chris to record six rhythmic parts on his own, suggesting he play six different drum parts as Continue Reading
Carme López – Quintela
One of my people has done us proud! From Carme López’s Bandcamp site: “Quintela’, the debut album by Carme López, a performer, teacher and researcher of traditional oral music from Galicia, is a new experimental work for Galician bagpipe. Influenced by the approach of composers like Éliane Radigue or Pauline Continue Reading
Amoeba Split – Second Split
Of all the scenes I’ve always felt was neglected in prog, it was the Canterbury scene. That sub-genre which gave us Soft Machine, Caravan, National Health, Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers is of course big with specialist fans, but as the years have passed, it seems fewer and fewer listeners Continue Reading
Maud the Moth + trajedesaliva – Bordando el manto terrestre
trajedesaliva, our friends from Galicia, Spain, have released a new album in partnership with Maud the Moth, a new artist I presume is also from the area. This has to be their tightest work, combining the most stellar elements of early, more harshly ‘industrial’ Current 93 with a more ethereal Continue Reading
Susana Seivane – Os Soños Que Volven
Galicia is a land of gaiteros and gaiteras, bagpipers of fine quality. Susana Seivane is one of the best of the newer generation, and she brings a raw, almost punk-like power to her performances. This album is a more subdued affair, but she plays so well that the more controlled Continue Reading
Beat Love Oracle – Turning The Table
Our friends at áMARXE Records out of Galicia in Spain have released a really heavy album influenced by Canterbury Music, Zappa and jazz-rock in general. There are so many twists and turns in Beat Love Oracle‘s album that it’s one I’d have trouble finding words to describe, so it is Continue Reading
trajedesaliva – Mima Blanca
My friends from trajedesaliva gifted me one of their older albums recently, and as I had some spare time to listen today, I indulged in Mima Blanca. It took me a moment to figure out what this reminded me of, but then it dawned on me – several incredibly good Continue Reading