• Music

    Samo Salamon & Hasse Poulsen – String Dancers

    May 28, 2021 - By 

    Musicians never cease to amaze me.  Despite the horrible conditions which have led to worldwide lockdown, artists like Samo Salamon, a guitarist out of Slovenia, and Hasse Poulsen, originally from Denmark, manage to weave together an acoustic guitar-only album of improvisations that don’t sound like what you normally associate with “improv.”  It’s a mellow album, and though there was a distance between the two musicians, they ping-ponged tracks back and forth to each other, growing and molding each tune until the final product was crafted.  It’s a stunningly relaxing album.  Those words should not go together under normal circumstances, but…

  • Music

    Fellirium – Changes

    May 21, 2021 - By 

    Yet another great listen from Russia.  I have plenty more coming down the line. Fellirium produce a neofolk that stays away from the more pretentious parts of the genre, and sticks with fine, gentle instrumental soundscapes.  One can hear hints of the Incredible String Band, perhaps a more acoustically based Legendary Pink Dots, and some rather ambient bits which blend together quite well.

  • Music

    Tommy Guerrero – Sunshine Radio

    April 19, 2021 - By 

    Tommy Guerrero’s music came to me via a recommendation of a friend online.  I had heard his name bandied about years ago because of friends of mine who were into skateboarding, but I had no idea he was making music.  And such good music, I must say. The album is full of instrumental psychedelic tracks.  According to Tommy, influences such as Ethio-Jazz, Afrobeat and spiritual jazz inflect the album, and you can hear this from the first few notes.  This is one I’ll be coming back to frequently.

  • Music

    Onségen Ensemble – Fear

    April 16, 2021 - By 

    I wish to thank my friend Slava, who is based in Kazakhstan, for introducing me into this avant-prog treasure.  The Onségen Ensemble are a Finnish group who have a rather open personnel, which is in keeping with their mission statement.  The sound is a mix of heavy progressive, psychedelic rock and a bit of raw, old-school metal.  I think a band like this would feel at home with American labels like Cuneiform Records, but they want to forge their own path, and it’s a very, very loud one.

  • Music

    Secret Agent – Mata Hari EP

    March 22, 2021 - By 

    Combining surf rock, garage rock, touches of psych and having a generally lo-fi vibe to it, Mexico City’s Secret Agent combine a couple of cool instrumentals with two sung tracks, including the title track, Mata Hari, featuring Vince Montes Rivera, which you can listen to below: