Radio Martiko usually does a fine job remastering old shellac recordings and making them sound vibrant. This album by Tassos Chalkias is an incredible example. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “Epirótika! Greek psych folk as a soul medicine. A shepherd’s fever dream or spiritual jazz from an ancient world? The Continue Reading
Greece
Dust Of Time – The Waking Hours
Greek composer Manolis Fasoulakis (Dust Of Time) joins with the Last American Poet, Shane Beck for an album which deftly combines Fasoulakis’ ethereal sonic landscapes with the haunting poetry of Beck. If you are into bands like Dead Can Dance, Lycia, Zahmia Lehmanni-era SPK or bands of this caliber, The Continue Reading
mastroKristo – Passage
mastroKristo is a band out of Greece whom I was able to glean little information about, but considering they are being released by Lost Tribe Sound, I expected this to be good. I was not disappointed at all. The acoustic guitar is achingly sparse, with a hint of neofolk without Continue Reading
Various Artists – Canary Records: Hellenic Hinterlands: Independent Greek-American 78rpm Discs from Baltimore, Boston, and Cleveland ca. 1953-57
From the Canary Records Bandcamp site: “When middle-class Americans in the 1950s found that they could get access to a tape recorder and a microphone, it then became possible for them to make recordings that they could pay to have pressed into discs. One didn’t need to go to dedicated Continue Reading
Various Artists – Canary Records: The Heart of a Mangas: Intersections of Popular Greek Theater & Rebetiko in Chicago & New York, 1923-29
The ever-brilliant Canary Records graces us with more Greek theater music and rebetiko. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “The word “mangas” for instance is untranslatable into English but has remained central to the notion of rebetika. It is a word that indicates a man who does not aspire to middle-class Continue Reading
Various Artists – G.O.D. RECORDS (Garden Of Dreams): Mondo Farfisa Garage Psycodelico
I was a big fan of bands like The Bomboras and The Lords of Altamont during their heydey in the 1990s and 2000s, but there is such a deep, rich reservoir of farfisa and hammond organ-based garage rock that it boggles the mind. The ever-excellent Greek record label G.O.D. RECORDS Continue Reading
Anglachel – A Light that Shines so Bright
The first thought I saw with this lovely cover art from Greek composer Anglachel was, “good boi!” It’s a heartbreakingly charming bit of cover art, but the main story is the music. It’s dungeon synth, but perhaps a little meatier than what I am used to hearing. The production value Continue Reading
The Basements – Sounds Of Yesterday
The Basements are a heavy psych-garage band out of Greece who sound authentically garage while managing to avoid clichés of the genre.
Kristo Rodzevski – Black Earth
Here is something rather magnificent coming out of Macedonia in the form of Kristo Rodzevski’s latest album through Defkaz, a great Greek label. There is hope for the Balkans yet! From the Defkaz Bandcamp site: “Black Earth has eleven traditional Macedonian songs infused with African aesthetics, including Gnawa undertones, Congo Continue Reading
Will -O-The Wisp – Will -O-The Wisp
Led by guitarist Takis Barbagalas, Will-O-The Wisp are a Greek psychedelic rock band from the late 1990’s whose Hammond organ-infused rock sounds as authentic as anything from the late 1960’s to early 1970’s.