• Music

    Biliana Voutchkova – Seeds Of Songs

    June 14, 2021 - By 

    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 in Berlin these days). Second, it is nice to see that Café OTO in London have opened a record label called Takuroku. Considering that the venerable café has hosted so many musicians of exquisite quality throughout the years, it seems fitting that they would give a platform to someone as…

  • Music

    Orphan Sound System – Layered Seed Water

    April 4, 2021 - By 

    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 Gburek, John El Manahi and John Palumbo.  I find it difficult to compare it to an artist of that particular time period, though perhaps I can hear a corollary with groups like AMM, the scores of incredibly talented cassette culture artists who worked with lo-fi conditions to make incredible art,…

  • Music

    Andrew Paine & Richard Youngs – Bonus Disc

    March 19, 2021 - By 

    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 some reason, remind me heavily of the ur-supergroup Big In Japan) to outtakes from a later-era David Bowie session.  This is a gritty gem of a disc.  The only shame is that it took me six years to come across it.

  • Music

    Rafał Mazur & Satoko Fujii, Guillermo Gregorio, Natsuki Tamura, Artur Majewski, Ramon Lopez – The Great Tone has no Sound

    March 13, 2021 - By 

    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 plays piano, Guillermo Gregorio wields the saxophone, Natsuki Tamura and Artur Majewski perform on trumpet and Ramón López fills out this group on drums and percussion.

  • Music - Music Promo

    [Announcement] Florian Arbenz / Tineke Postma – Free online gig at Porgy & Bess in Vienna

    March 7, 2021 - By 

    We have an online gig announcement from a friend of the blog, Swiss percussionist and drummer Florian Arbenz: Hi – I hope you’re well! Whilst most musicians are still not quite back touring, we do keep playing and I’m excited to let you know that I’m broadcasting live (and FREE) from Vienna’s legendary Porgy & Bess Jazz Club this Thursday: 🎞️ https://porgy.at/events/10327/​ I’ll be joined by the brilliant Dutch saxophonist Tineke Postma and we’ll be performing much of the repertoire from my recent duo album with Greg Osby. If you’d like to join, we’ll be happy to have you there,…

  • Music

    Li Daiguo (李帶菓) – Xiao Gong (笑功)

    February 10, 2021 - By 

    French label WV Sorcerer Productions 巫唱片 offers up a quiet, pulsating drone album from American-Taiwanese-Chinese composer Li Daiguo.  As far as experimental music goes, this is dark and foreboding in a far more organized way that what I’m used to hearing.  Quite a fine effort.

  • Music

    Joseph Benzola – When You Get to Saturn, Make a Left.

    February 9, 2021 - By 

    I cannot think of any genre of music percussionist and composer Joseph Benzola doesn’t sound comfortable working in.  There might be some bizarre concoction lying dormant in the underground somewhere, but it’s not worth wasting one’s time thinking much about. This collection puts together what sounds something similar to Balinese percussion on the first track, Improv 24 November 2019, and then smoothly transitions to atonal piano music, then some improvisational music, and so on. The variation of styles, and how well everything meshes together, is impressive. Hints of Alban Berg, Sun Ra, jazz played at a bar over a scotch…

  • Music

    Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra – Letters From Afar

    February 3, 2021 - By 

    This release by Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra is a joint Chinese-American project.  The back story is rather interesting.  From the Bandcamp website: In early 2020, we found ourselves separated and stuck at home. Even though four of us were in Beijing, COVID19 control measures prevented us from meeting face to face. And David was much further away (in Israel, then New York and eventually Oklahoma) and unable to return to Beijing. Like much of the world, we resorted to frequent video chats and text messages to stay in touch, but as time went on, we felt we needed a better way…

  • Music

    Maja S. K. Ratkje – Corona Lockdown Concert For TUSK Festival 2020

    January 29, 2021 - By 

    Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje is perhaps the most important active composer in Norway’s experimental music scene.  The Trondheim native not only works with avant-garde music, but with contemporary classical, choral, experimental, electronic and even rock music. She provides a new release which clocks in about 30 minutes of vocal improvisation which goes from quiet blips and boops to what sounds like harrowing growling and shreiks (yes, it works perfectly within the context of this music), textured with loops and the sorts of soundscapes Ratkje is known for.  The release is a documentation of her virtual performance at the TUSK Virtual…