Novoselie, Questa Musica – Requiem

A sublime, baroque look at the requiem on Fancy Music.  From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Requiem (from Latin requies – “rest”) is a high genre of concert sacred music, a kind of mourning oratorio. Even the above phrase is little understood by the general public, not to mention the names Continue Reading

Various Artists – Antonovka Records: Made in Davlekanovo: Russian and Chuvash Songs from Bashkortostan

The brilliant folks at Antonovka Records continue to amaze and delight with their travelogues across Russia, Moldova and the Balkans.  This particular recording covers an area I have ready plenty about, but have not yet passed through.  From the label’s Bandcamp site for this release: “The album features Russian folk Continue Reading

Divertissement Сhamber Orchestra, Sergey Kuryokhin – Re:SEASONS

Sergey Kuryokhin was as fine a composer as he was an improvisor.  The Divertissement Orchestra, led by violinist Ilya Ioff, reinterprets one of Kuryokhin’s finest compositions from his album The Sparrow Oratorium.  Well-played, indeed. Alisa Ten: vocals [1, 2, 4] Vera Chekanova: vocals [2, 3, 4] Lidia Kovalenko: violin [1], Continue Reading

Disen Gage, Alexei Borisov, Misha ‘MOX’ Salnikov, Eugene Voronovsky – Bionika

Russian experimental band Disen Gage have collaborated with some of the country’s most notorious experimental musicians.  Alexei Borisov, for instance, has been featured on these pages before.  MOX and Voronovsky are new names.  The music is an impressive mix of early-era Tuxedomoon-influenced music supported by a avant-prog bass, drums and Continue Reading

Cristina Godoroja – Ciob​ă​naș Cu Oile: Songs From Moldova and Romania

Antonovka Records, once based in Russia but now ensconced in Moldova, continues to release some of the most seminal music to ever come out of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, and their reach seems to keep expanding.  This album covers the work of traditional singer Cristina Godoroja, an ethnomusicologist Continue Reading

Oleg Karpachev – Sputnik (Dir. Egor Abramenko) O​.​S​.​T.

I have never heard of Oleg Karpachev, a Israeli soundtrack composer, but thanks to the fine folks at the legendary Cold Spring Records, I can spend this day blown away by this soundtrack which melds together Hans Zimmer and In Slaughter Natives in some fashion.  From the label’s Bandcamp site: Continue Reading

Evgeny Masloboev – Clay. Thirteen Contemplations on Matter

Clay is the topic of the latest Fancy Records release by composer Evgeny Masloboev.  The topic, as described by the artist, is a fascinating one, tied in with some incredible contemporary classical music.  From the Fancy Records Bandcamp site: “Clay is a living mystic. This is the ever-dancing childhood of Continue Reading