Our dear friends at the Lollipoppe Shoppe have released a freakily good album out of 1990s Poland. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Atman was an eco-activist collective, that released tape-only pastoral dwelling jams in the fine Polish-Jazz tradition… Hamered dulcimer and exotically tuned 12-string guitars among basket-loads of unknown sounds, Continue Reading
Poland
Karolina Ossowska & Jeff Gburek – Ariadne’s Thread
I’m used to expecting amazing things from composer and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Gburek, and certainly so when he pairs with violinist Karolina Ossowska, but this is a shockingly good album even with such expectations. The album has four compositions which are about as gentle and pleasing as anything I’ve heard in Continue Reading
Various Artists – Fly, Fly, You Hardened Arrow: Round Dance Songs of “Polish” Old Believers from Altai
The now-legendary Antonovka Records have done astounding work documenting music from Russia’s myriad of ethnic communities. This one is from the so-called “Polish” Old Believers in the Altai region. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “The ancestors of the Altai “Polish” Old Believers were peasants of the Vetka-Starodub territory of the Continue Reading
Extremophiles – First Batch
Extremophiles are a duo made up of Jeff Gburek on synthesizer, percussion, effects, devices and John Palumbo on electro-acoustic drums, percussion, and more electronics. I have to say this release blew me away, as it reminded be of a cross between the crunchy post-punk/Rock-In-Opposition vibe of This Heat’s early work Continue Reading
Methuzelah (Jeff Gburek & Pete Swinton) – First Album
Today is an auspicious day, as I’m proud to say that this is the 700th consecutive post this blog has produced since January 1, 2021. The release is one I held onto for such an occasion, as Jeff Gburek, heavily featured on my site for the astounding quality of his Continue Reading
EABS – Slavic Spirits
I am floored at how consistently good Polish jazz is, and though I find the idea of dabbling in demonology somewhere between hokey and morally bankrupt, what matters for people who read this blog is consistency in great music. From EABS’ Bandcamp site: “The idea for “The Darkness”, the composition Continue Reading
Jeff Gburek – Pharoah’s Tarot
Pharoah Sanders left this mortal coil on September 24, 2022, after leaving a stellar body of work and his influence on countless musicians including Jeff Gburek. The influence was profound, and you can hear it on this album, where the guitar glides into something free, not as in noisy free-jazz, Continue Reading
I Have No Face – Feelings That Won’t Return
It pays to explore the myriad of free albums available on Bandcamp these days. Though there is a lot of garbage one has to sort through, you will always come up with a few gems during the day if you are persistent, and I Have No Face, a project out Continue Reading
Citizen – Ars Humana Aedificavit Urbes
Today is a gloomy day in Budapest, as we’re in the middle of a heavy rainstorm, so it seemed like a perfect day to indulge in some pure noise. I am new to the work of Citizen, who are, a believe, a Polish band headed by Jakub S, but I Continue Reading
Jeff Gburek – The Perfect Storm: Collected Acousmatic Works with Voice 2020-2022
Our friend Jeff Gburek continues to release astounding experimental music, with this release being a collection of scattered acousmatic works which flow together surprisingly well. If you can imagine John Cage’s Roaratorio, calm spoken word and field recordings which make you forget you’re in front of your stereo rather than Continue Reading