• Music

    Cyanosis – Unscathed

    July 12, 2021 - By 

    Costa Rica, musically, has always been a mystery to me.  The last contact I had was with a brilliant DJ out of San José who hosted a progressive rock radio program, but to find out that there is experimental music coming out of the country is a very pleasant surprise. Cyanosis is not a stranger to this site, as Efrain Valerio’s work was reviewed when he participated in a split album with our friends Destruktionsanstalt in April.  This is the first chance I have had to hear his own work, and it is as bleak a recording as I have…

  • Music

    UBURGRUND – Dionelos

    May 23, 2021 - By 

    At least as I am able to understand it, UBURGRUND is a graphic artist and composer who hails from Băicoi, Romania.  This release is inspired, in part by the Romanian modern surrealist author Mircea Cărtărescu and his magnum opus, Solenoid. I have not had a chance to read the book yet, but from what I am hearing from a dear seraphim in Bucharest, he is as worthy as read as he is weird. You can read more about this work here. This album was released by our friends at Kalamine Records, and, as expected, it maintains their high standard of…

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    Noisesculptor & God Cancer – Wanderers In The 4th Dimension

    May 22, 2021 - By 

    Noise music is something you are either passionate for. or you loathe to the depths of your soul.  I say this because too many artists not only sound far too similar, it almost sounds like they insult the audience by turning on a vacuum cleaner and try to call that “music.”  It’s trash, nothing more.  That trick only worked once with Duchamp, and all his followers merely pose, tarnishing anything good in art. However, there is another angle to noise.  That of the sculpted, patiently crafted sturm und drang which allows for musical or cinemtic influences to further enhance their…

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    Destruktionsanstalt / Cyanosis – Split

    April 25, 2021 - By 

    For those of you, my friends, who were avid readers of my previous blog, A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music, among the musicians I was proud to champion was Destruktionsanstalt, whose works were featured at this link.  I’m pleased to say that Per Najbjerg Odderskov has a fresh release under that monicker, splitting it with a project which is new to me in Cyanosis.  The first two tracks from from Destruktionsanstalt, and unlike many noise bands, there is a nearly surgical focus on both tracks.  The pummeling noise fest has a vibe utterly indebted to the masters, especially early period-Throbbing Gristle…

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    Schloss Tegal – Musick From Madness

    April 18, 2021 - By 

    Schloss Tegal have a storied history in post-Industrial, ritualistic and experimental music.  The duo of Richard Schneider (based in Prague) and MWBurch (based in New York) developed a body of work on their own, drawing from some extremely dark places, as well as collaborating with musicians like Aube from Japan and the American experimental music composer John Duncan. Our friend and colleague Raffaele Pezzella is releasing and has remastered these cassette recordings and unreleased tracks into a very coherent album.  To learn more about the history of the band, and how this collaboration came to be, consider going to the…

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    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,…

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    Der Finger – Le Cinque Stagioni

    March 28, 2021 - By 

    Russia has a pretty remarkable history with jazz.  Even during the Soviet times, everything from Dixieland to hard bop was represented rather well, and free jazz is no exception.  Der Finger are the trio of Anton Efimov (bass), Evgenia Sivkova (drums & saxophone) and Edward Sivkov (bass clarinet, saxophone and bass-domra).  They make a racket (and that is meant in a good way) that is indeed free and open, and almost borders on Industrial music in parts.  Good listening.

  • Music

    Neon Noodle – Swamplands

    March 21, 2021 - By 

    Neon Noodle mixes lo-fi noise with what sounds like horror soundtracks, touches of vaporwave and a bass line that reminds me of something one could hear out of an early 80s garage post-punk or experimental cassette demo.  It’s crunchy, but interesting.  I’d like to see how Neon Noodle develop as time passes.