• Music

    Various Artists – Bureau B 2022

    Bureau B has released so many incredible reissues that it has been hard to document all of them.  Artists released this year include Martin Rev (of Suicide), Cluster, Dieter Moebius, Jimi Tenor and Faust among so many others.  The label is incredibly prolific, and 2022 was another banner year for the label, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year!

  • Music

    Niobe Poitier – Poemas Perdidos (To J. L. Borges)

    Today’s wee sonic adventure comes from a Berlin-based composer called Niobe Poitier.  What fascinated me about this release was that she was using the voice of my favorite author, Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, his voice and his works as his source material.  The feel of the tracks, especially The Other (El Otro), are otherworldly.  Some of the most satisfying headphone listening I’ve had in a good, long while.

  • Music

    Sula Bassana – Nostalgia

    Though he have nearly 20 years under his belt with this band, I have to admit that I never heard David Schmidt’s music until this evening.  Sula Bassana’s latest release, Nostalgia, is a gloriously slow wade into space rock.  It’s heavy, sludgy, and exactly the sort of thing that I want to relax my mind to at the moment.  Dense, but rewarding, listening.

  • Music

    Peter Brötzmann / Keiji Haino Duo – The Intellect Given Birth To Here (Eternity) Is Too Young

    Two of the greatest legends in free jazz and psychedelic rock, Keiji Haino and Peter Brötzmann, join forces after a long while in this four-album noise-fest.  My understanding that the vinyl pressing on Black Editions, which includes a 3-inch CD, is long sold out, which is unfortunate, but a standard edition is available for $100, a bit high, but for these two, and for a four-LP set, it just might be worth the price.

  • Music

    Doc Wör Mirran – Second Try

    Doc Wör Mirran got its start as a multi-disciplinary project out of Nürnberg, Germany in around 1985, and for nearly 40 years, the band have continued to produce strange, intriguing avant-garde rock and experimental music.  From their Bandcamp site: “Contrary to most compilations which compile the greatest hits of an artist, “Second Try” is a compilation that highlights the drumming talents of DWM’s drummer Stefan Schweiger. He compiled, edited and partially remixed this album himself of his favourite tracks, and added new sounds and samples to make some of the tracks quite different from the “normal versions”. Stefan also contributed…

  • Music

    Yanna Momina – Afar Ways

    Our friends at Xango Music reminded us about a profoundly interesting album released by Glitterhouse Records out of Germany.  The artist, Yanna Momina, is from Djibouti, a country which very rarely gets any sort of press attention outside of military news (and the fact that it is now one of the most expensive places in the world despite the crushing poverty the average person suffers from.  You can hear the pain in her voice as she sings and wails about with the most minimal of musical backings, as she is accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, calabash and sparse handclaps. …

  • Music

    The Cosmic Kangaroos – .​.​.​improvise!

    Our comrades at German’s finest psych label, The Lollipoppe Shoppe, release a wild album of heavy-duty psychedelic rock by The Cosmic Kangaroos that sounds more like a 1960’s California (West Coast) indie monster rather than a gem recorded in the 1990s.  This label has a knack for absolutely incredible rare gems!

  • Music

    Amine Mesnaoui & Labelle – African Prayers

    What a strangely beautiful album… From the duo’s Bandcamp site: Berlin and Reunion based duo, Amine Mesnaoui and Labelle are set to release their debut album on revered London independent imprint Lo Recordings on the 1st of April 2022. ‘African Prayers’ is a collection of seven new compositions, which includes lead single ‘Bleu Noir’, that aims to bring a contemporary and fresh interpretation to the Lila Ritual of the Moroccan Gnawa masters – also known as the Ritual of the Seven Colors. With a firm belief they can deliver a sound that finds its anchor in heritage and yet escape…

  • Music

    Various Artists – Weedian: Trip To Germany

    Though I’m not much of a metal guy, I have grown fond of things like desert rock, stoner rock, drone metal and other variants.  The online label Weedian has been releasing free (or pay-what-you-like) compilations of bands in local scenes, and this one covers Germany in 62 tracks.  Most of these bands are surprisingly good, and those of you into things like Saint Vitus or Black Sabbath will find plenty to enjoy in this album.