This has to be one of the cooler psychedelic folk albums I’ve heard in a while. There’s something Balkan in black (w)hole’s music structure, where I can imagine the Incredible String Band jamming with old Greek or North Macedonian shepherds in the hills. Brilliant.
Farhot is a musician based in Germany who also happens to run the rather incredible Kabul Fire record label. This release is in honor of the Persian New Year (Nowroz) 1401. From his Bandcamp site: “In celebration of the Persianate new year usually taking place on March 21st Afghan-German producer artist Farhot announces his follow up project “Nowroz 1401” which translates into “New Year 1401” – the number marking the year according to the solar calendar which is used in countries like Afghanistan and Iran. While Nowroz is being celebrated in several additional regions like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan or Kirgizstan and…
Kalia Vandever is a New York- based trombonist whose playing is about as elegant as anything I’ve heard in a while. From her Bandcamp site: “We Fell In Turn is the solo debut from Brooklyn-based trombonist, composer, and quartet leader Kalia Vandever. Vandever, who plays with Harry Styles and Japanese Breakfast, “sculpts her trombone’s golden tones into dazzling compositions” (Pitchfork), writing music that tends to “dip you into a feeling or a pattern or a breathing speed, and keep you there” (The New York Times). In 2022, Vandever released Regrowth, an album that “features the ecstatic, brilliant melodies that…
I suppose one can call this post-rock with Chinese characteristics. Zhaoze are a progressive rock/post-rock band out of Guangzhou, China, and this is the first I’ve heard of them. Their sound is mellow, almost dramatic in a TV-theme way, yet the music, though soothing, is also engaging, especially after about the 5 minute mark, where guitars begin to shimmer.
Two small ambient/orchestral pieces have been released by the composer ǽfv, of whom I know nothing except that she is an experimental composer and cellist whose short compositions left me wanting much more.
This Penguin Can Fly is a band out of Portugal. which combines elements of post-rock, prog and math-rock into a rather brutal, mostly instrumental, concoction. Heavy, but rewarding, listening.
Twelve Improvisations For Piano Solo is a solo piano album by Spanish pianist Javi Cánovas from 2016. It’s an elegant listening experience comfortably sitting on a corner where contemporary classical, jazz and new age congregate.
The Dirty Three are Mick Turner, Jm White and Warren Ellis, and between them, they have worked with a who’s who of alternative music like P.J. Harvey, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and Nick Cave among others. What’s most impressive about their sound, however, is that they can sew together angular post-rock with a charming, nearly folkish sound. This is the band’s best album in my estimation, and that’s saying a lot considering the quality of their work, but please do give it a listen and enjoy one of Australia’s finest instrumental bands.
I can’t say I’ve heard of post-country music until today, but as it reminds me of post-rock, this is a genre that will definitely be worth exploring. Rivers Of Glass offer an instrumental album of shimmering guitar playing, sounding like an ambient music version of rain. It’s a sublime listening experience.
The first thing that came into my mind hearing The Traffic was that they have mastered the psych-soul formula to a tee. The first track, Fire, is a Jimi Hendrix cover where the flute takes the place of Hendrix’s legendary guitar playing, and it sounds damn solid. The second track, Bangarang, sounds like something that would have fit in well with a hip Blaxploitation soundtrack, with a heavy funk element to the track.