This is the latest from Prussian/Russian neofolk band Romowe Rikoito. The music is heavy, based on the neofolk paradigm, of course, but what sets this apart is the reconstructed Old Prussian lyrics, something the band is passionate about transmitting.
Ilian Ladov is a musician from St. Petersburg, Russia, who works in the medium of neofolk. The work is all instrumental, and has a very relaxed vibe to it. It’s a bit melancholy in parts, but not dour or droll at all.
Friends of the blog Āustras Laīwan have released one of the most sublimely engaging albums I have heard recently. The tone is melancholy throughout, almost achingly so. There are parts where one feels like they’re opening up a ballerina box in an old Russian film. In terms of sound, it’s crisp and warm, and this will appeal to those who like neofolk, neo-classical, contemporary and soundtrack music.
Our dear friend, the Mighty Sieben himself, Matt Howden, is launching a series of 10 singles under the banner BRAND NEW DARK AGE. For those of you who were wise enough to support Matt’s Patreon, you will be receiving the first chance to hear these, and the tracks will be free to patrons supporting the Sieben cause. For the rest of you, prepare yourselves for a year of a perfect balance of neofolk, goth, and post-punk.
The Phonometrician is fellow Los Angeleno Carlos Morales, and he produces a music that sounds like a post-Industrial Coil supplemented by a very sparse acoustic guitar. It works quite well, and adds to the already immensely wonderful Lost Tribe Sound catalog.
I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Howden, the mighty Sieben himself, while tour-managing for Sol Invictus in 2000. His violin playing added an otherworldly element to the music, and he was embarking on his solo career at that point. After scores of albums under Sieben and his own name, everything culminates in this album. It’s not so much a neofolk album as much as a combination of psychedelic rock and goth/post-punk, as raw as anything that came out 40 or 50 years ago (how time flies), but modern enough to break ground in any of these genres. Solid.
From Kaliningrad, Russia (formerly my material ancestral Linn homeland of Koenigsberg, East Prussia) hail one of the most impressive psychedelic folk records I’ve heard in some time. From the cacophony of the violin starting the album, it morphs into a Beatlesque horn arrangement. Those few seconds set the tone for what I figured would be a very heavy listening experience. Sunset Wings, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Aleks Popov team on this album with fellow singer Evgeniy Brodsky. What makes the album crucial listening, along with the impressive instrumental array you will see below, is the adaptations by poets and…
What a strikingly good album this is. Autumn Tears is a collective of musicians from Billerica, Massachusetts who make an ethereal sound that blends the best of bands who would have fit well on 4AD Records during their 1980s heyday and progressive rock, especially for those who are fans of the Russian symphonic group iamthemorning. Zeresh are beloved friends whose work has been reviewed on this blog in the past, and Tamar Singer’s vocals sound utterly sublime here. This crosses neofolk with a restrained but foreboding metal vibe. Dark, but magically so. Of special note, the mastering on this album…
Jeff Gburek · Corduroy Cascade Normally, I’m more than happy to present works from Jeff Gburek and those associated with his music because the quality is high as it comes to experimental or other such avant-garde music. This, however, is a departure from what I’m used to hearing from him, and to say it’s a stunning one is putting it mildly. The track weighs in at under 8 minutes, but is more a lush, truly acid-folk-inspired work. There are elements of projects like the American psychedelic folk band Changes, Coptic/esoteric period Current 93 (without the rambling), and a great lo-fi…
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.