We have another elegant experimental/electroacoustic album by violinist Karolina Ossowska and her partner in this release, Jeff Gburek. There is a Nurse With Wound-meets-György Ligeti vibe to this release, maybe even references to Krzysztof Penderecki’s earlier avant-garde works, but given a gritty, ghostly treatment. Another glorious release.
Our old friend George Christian has released a two-track album for Post Orientalism Music out of Berlin, Germany. Though some will bill this as experimental, I hear more of a wild psych-influenced space rock mixed together guitar improvisations that works wonderfully well. It is best to let George tell the story, the rest of which you can read at his Bandcamp release site:
“This recording was made under painfully difficult circumstances. In July 7th, my mother was hospitalized and, for a month, she fought a long battle against her second hemorrhagic stroke and pneumonia, that affected her lungs and kidneys and ultimately caused her death in August 8th, 2024. Two days before my birthday. And from July 6th to September 13th, my retuning to my latest girlfriend represented one of my most unnerving moments of my life, in spite of some moments of relief. That’s backstory of the whole album.
However, while the first track portrays the sadness after the departure of my mother, the second (recorded while my mother was at the hospital) is my wish of surpassing the adversities in spite of the challenges. So, this musical work is my way to not only portray how much such circumstances affected my spirit, but also tell musically of my own Arabic inheritance, that came mainly from my mother.
Well, the music is not compromised to such complex backstory. It’s a spiritual awakening in the shape of instrumental music, after all. I’m still missing her and crying silently for her, but I’m learning to survive that. She was the woman that was my first true love.
Among other things, she was a medium that channeled the gypsy that lived inside her in order to help several people. And she’s the real reason why I’m in the musical world. I am the musician that I am today thanks to her. In spite of the fact that she wasn’t a musician, she was from a family that had musical (and Gypsy) linkages. And the gypsy in her still dancing within myself…”
Que sua memória seja eterna, Dona Margarida.
Ernesto Díaz-Infante is a favorite on this blog, so any release of his is welcome, but Bryan Day is a new name for me. He is an instrument maker and improvisational musician who also runs Public Eyesore Records. This collaboration is quite dark, bordering on a cacophonous take reminding me of works by Derek Bailey or Loren (Mazzacane) Connors at their peak. This was rough listening, but thoroughly engaging.
scatterArchive continue to release astoundingly interesting albums, so kudos to them for maintaining such high quality in a genre that can be difficult to do so.
Jeff Gburek returns to these pages presenting an album featuring himself improvising on his mandolin. The album is sparse and very well recorded. The clarity really helps one to focus on the sounds emanating from his weapon of choice. Think of a mix between experimental music, jazz, a horror soundtrack, and your friend musing.
Amor Celestial is the latest album by Bay Area guitar improviser Ernesto Diaz-Infante, release on Rambutan Records out of New York. The album reminds me of waves gently crashing into the rock of the Pacific Coastline, ebbing and flowing as clouds of feedback surround each bend of the strings. From the release’s Bandcamp site:
“San Francisco-based Ernesto Diaz-Infante brings his complete mastery and open exploration of the electric guitar to Tape Drift. It’s an honor to present this deeply focused and heavy work from someone who has dedicated so many years to fearless sonic experimentation and improvisation. The cover art is apt, as this particularly journey lends itself to a celebration of the cosmic infinite. Turn the volume up, dive right in and let Ernesto show the way.”
Today is a workday for us in Beijing, so there is no review today, but I did want to point you to an Indonesian band called Senyawa, who is featured on Rafaelle Pezzella’s incredible Unexplained Sounds Group‘s digipak retrospective called the Far East Music Collection. It is a reissue of three seminal compilations covering experimental music from China, Indonesia and the Far East in general. The set looks gorgeous, and Senyawa‘s contribution is mind-blowing.
Thanks to the ever-consistent Muteant Records for bringing this album to my attention! I’m familiar with both Michel Kristof and Makoto Sato’s work, as both as masters in the improv world, but Quentin Rollet is a new name for me. His sax playing and sound manipulation are expertly underpinned by the aforementioned Kristof and Sato, making this a bouncy and adventurous listen.
Quentin Rollet : sopranino and alto saxes, Korg Monotron Delay, iPhone, SmarFaust App
Michel Kristof : electric guitard, Sfx, cowbells
Makoto Sato : drums
Saadet Türköz is an international treasure. Born to Kazakh and Turkish parents in Istanbul in 1961, she has developed a style that comfortably blends Central Asian traditional music with free jazz. A very pleasant listen.
A very pleasant release from Mohammad Syfkhan, a Kurdish musician currently based in Ireland. From the Nyaah Records Bandcamp site:
“Mohammad’s own brand of ecstatic music takes elements from Middle Eastern and North African music to create an atmosphere of joy, love and happiness. The songs on ‘I am Kurdish’ have been recorded and mixed with the view to make them to suitable for listening to at a small get together or to be played on a big rig at night clubs. Either way, it is a record that will make people dance.”
Today there will be no reviews as we are having to prepare for Christmas at the school and time is limited, so I share with you the ever-wonderful La Montaña Rusa podcast and a broadcast of some fine jazz and improvised music. Enjoy yourselves this evening!