As we near the close of a challenging 2021, we’re graced with a release by composer Jeff Gburek which features a rebab, a spiked fiddle. It’s an instrument he studied in Indonesia under Pak Suhardi, blended with synthesizers and electronic bloops and bleeps which left me feeling like I was Continue Reading
Improvised Music
Bester Quartet – Piazzolla Angels
Poland’s For-Tune Records have been consistently releasing high-quality jazz and improv music for some time now, but their latest has a special place for me. This collection, with the exception of Por Una Cabeza (composed by Carlos Gardel) was composed by the inimitable Ástor Piazzólla and arranged Bester Quartet leader Continue Reading
Amir ElSaffar – Inana
Inana is the fourth album by Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir ElSaffar which came out in 2011. The trumpeter starts the album with eight tracks dedicated to Inanna, the Mesopotamian goddess of sex, beauty, war and political power. ElSaffar mixes microtonal jazz with Arabic scales such as maqam, which seems to be Continue Reading
[Avant Music News] Jon Hassell Profiled in Memorium
![[Avant Music News] Jon Hassell Profiled in Memorium](https://musicyouneedtohear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/img_5969-768x547.jpg)
Source: The Guardian. By the time Jon Hassell became a revered figure – the kind of determinedly non-commercial, avant-garde artist whose ideas are … Jon Hassell Profiled in Memorium
Ikuro Takahashi – しりえないものとずっと
An’archives, a French experimental music record label, has released しりえないものとずっと (Forever With The Incomprehensible) by legendary drummer and percussionist Ikuro Takahashi. Takahashi has worked with the likes of Keiji Haino’s power-trio Fushitsusha, Seishokki, High Rise, Ché-Shizu, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Kousokuya, LSD March and Nagisa Ni Te. This kind of Continue Reading
Biliana Voutchkova – Seeds Of Songs
This release is a double introduction of sorts for me; first, for the chance to finally delve into a full recording of the work of Biliana Voutchkova, an interdisciplinary artist, violinist, performer, composer, improviser and curator from one of the countries I most enjoy visiting, Bulgaria (though she is based Continue Reading
Orphan Sound System – Layered Seed Water
My (Western) Easter listening happens to be an avant-garde recording put together in the mid-nineties in Italy and just now being released. Imagine works being recorded nearly a quarter-century ago still sounding fresh and relevant. This is the sound of Orphan Sound System. The project features the talents of Jeff Continue Reading
Jeff Gburek – Secret Orphan Endorphin Mix
Jeff Gburek · Secret Orphan Endorphin Mix I played American composer Jeff Gburek’s piece here in spectacularly sunny weather yesterday, and under grey skies today. In both cases, the music let my mind wander into itself. A perfect piece for taking it easy.
Andrew Paine & Richard Youngs – Bonus Disc
This has to be one of the most charmingly weird, frankly unclassifiable discs I’ve heard in a while. Andrew Paine & Richard Youngs manage to pull together a collection that should sound like a mess, yet it’s a rather enjoyable one. The music goes from lo-fi disco tracks (which for Continue Reading
Rafał Mazur & Satoko Fujii, Guillermo Gregorio, Natsuki Tamura, Artur Majewski, Ramon Lopez – The Great Tone has no Sound
Though I cannot say I know much about Fundacja Słuchaj’s background, I can say that their releases tend to be excellent, releasing some of the bigger names in improvisational music. This collection is no different. The personnel on this four-disc set is pretty phenomenal: Rafał Mazur plays bass, Satoko Fujii Continue Reading