• Music

    EABS – Slavic Spirits

    October 12, 2022 - By 

    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 opening the Slavic Spirits LP, was born out of collective improvisation performed before a Komeda-inspired medley of “Free Witch and No Bra Queen / Sult” played in concert. It came as a surprise to us that this new album, devoted to broadly understood Slavism, turned out to have its roots…

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek – Pharoah’s Tarot

    October 10, 2022 - By 

    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, but something free-floating, gentle, relaxing, almost heavenly.  It certainly bears the stamp of his own work, and that of Sanders, but I hear also a touch of Sonny Sharrock in this mix as well. This is experimental music that is gentle on the ear and on the mind.

  • Music

    I Have No Face – Feelings That Won’t Return

    October 7, 2022 - By 

    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 of Poland, turns out to be one of those. This isn’t music per sé, but rather four wispy, ghostly, well-crafted tones that flow together pleasantly.  It is ear candy – tasty, tasteful and a nice EP worth hearing.

  • Music

    Citizen – Ars Humana Aedificavit Urbes

    August 20, 2022 - By 

    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 like the fact that, unlike most noise, this sounds like he took the time to sculpt well over 40 minutes of inferno-blasting ‘music’ that keeps you engaged.  Not bad at all.

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek – The Perfect Storm: Collected Acousmatic Works with Voice 2020​-​2022

    August 1, 2022 - By 

    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 enjoying the sounds of nature in some Eastern European lake area.  You feel a sense of sublime calm, with a guide and friend, your own Virgil,  perhaps, chatting with you as you walk in the fields rather than into the bowels of the inferno.

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek – Tamarind Winds: Songs for Javanese Rebab, 2022

    June 20, 2022 - By 

    Tamarind Winds has to be the best album of 2022 for me to get lost in.  Composer and friend of the blog Jeff Gburek continues to awe with the magic he imbues in each instrument he touches, spinning haunting drones, field recordings and soothing the senses with his rebab.  From his Bandcamp site: Various parts of the traditional Javanese rebab are made of tamarind wood, hence the flavor, the aromatic suggestion of the title. These are spontaneous compositions, duets and trios created in thye studio among me, myself and I. There are no effects or plug-ins used other than reverb…

  • Music

    Henryk Debich – Dyskusja / Busz

    June 13, 2022 - By 

    What a jazz-funk gem this is!  From the Henryk Debich Bandcamp site: Despite the ongoing pandemic, the past year was very successful for the celebration of Henryk Debich’s 100th birthday anniversary. The master’s albums: Zbliżenie [Astigmatic Records] and Horyzonty [GAD Records] turned out to be a huge success, bringing great reviews and attracting huge interest. The continuation of the publishing series devoted to archival recordings was a bull’s eye. Jazz Funk from the communist time is still in demand. Astigmatic Records presented the works of Henryk Debich and the Lodz PRiTV Orchestra in the form of a seven-inch single “Monika…

  • Music

    Jerzy Milian – Optima Fide

    May 17, 2022 - By 

    Jerzy Milian is one of the most important jazz musicians to ever come out of Poland.  In this rather expensive album, he is collaborating with the BRT Radio (now VRT Radio) Orchestra during the late 1960s.  The release showcases Milian’s vibraphone talents, but also shows how multi-faceted his music was, incorporating beat, rock and soundtrack music into his oeuvre.

  • Music

    Orphan Sound System – Tantric Tantrums

    March 22, 2022 - By 

    Experimental music isn’t a genre that avails itself to the power trio.  In this case, however, Jeff Gburek, John El-Manahi and John Palumbo should be given such a venerable title.  The music they produce as Orphan Sound System is reminiscent of vintage progressive rock bands like Faust or Cranioclast but with production input by the Gyuto Monks.  This is sitting on the nexus point of psychedelic music, post-Industrial and experimental.  Challenging listening, but ultimately rewarding, as the listener will feel as though they’re being transported on a not-unpleasant tour of Saṃsāra. Lineup: Jeff Gburek: electric guitar, bassic guitar, microfreak, drum machine,…

  • Music

    Jeff Gburek – Omnia Sacra et Miracula

    February 16, 2022 - By 

    Our friend and one of our perennial favorites at this blog, Jeff Gburek, comes to us with a mini-LP’s worth of meditative guitar music supplemented with an electro-acoustic bass berimbau, pine cones, and field recordings.  There is an element of twangy, echoey, lo-fi music in these recordings which reminded me of the primordial, primitive guitar stylings of Robbie Basho or John Fahey blended with touches of American psychedelic folk as heard by bands such as Texas’ acid-folk legends Charalambides.