Our beloved friends at Russia’s finest indie music magazine, Meticulous Midgets, has released their annual compilation of weird experimental, lo-fi and avant-garde music. Featured artists include Russia’s own Assembly of Honey, the Italian ambient sound sculptor Marco Lucchi and Latvia’s Шумилов Бор (Shumilov Bor) among a host of talent worldwide.
Russia
Ivan Grebenschikov – The Endless Winter
I’ll be in-flight over South Korea by the time you’re reading this post, and I thought I’d leave you with an incredibly rich and diverse album by Russian pianist Ivan Grebenschikov and his group. The Endless Winter is his latest work, and it is a seamless combination of art-rock, contemporary Continue Reading
Āustras Laīwan – Ephemerality of April Dreams
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 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
Yury Markin – On a Large Scale
I have to give full credit to legendary multi-instrumentalist Arkady Shilkloper for making mention of Yury Markin’s album on his Facebook feed on which he appears. I’m familiar with how solid the Russian jazz/experimental record label Fancy Music is, and this latest release does not disappoint. From the label’s Bandcamp Continue Reading
Okolo Poludnya – Gulyat EP
Okolo Poludnya are a band out of Russia who have mastered the art of nostalgic synth-pop. Well done, and considering how old synth-pop is, it’s nice to hear bands keeping the genre sounding fresh.
Mikhail Chekalin – Special Selected Works
Mikhail Chekalin is one of the elder statesmen of Soviet electronic music. This is a collection of more orchestral works, and the remastering work is very well done. There are elements of Berlin School electronica and dark ambient which will appeal to a wide range of listeners.
Shopworn – How Could Children Disturb Internet Dialoguè?
I haven’t heard anyone do an album in a plunderphonics style in some time now. Stanislav Aladev, who composes under the name Shopworn, is a Russian musician who has released one of the most charmingly weird albums I’ve heard this year. From Stanislav, regarding his work: “I thought for a Continue Reading
Ayanga Ensemble – Erkhuu Khoto: Songs of Buryats from Irkutsk
Antonovka Records produced one of my favorite records of 2022, covering music from the region of Buryatia in Russia. From the label’s Bandcamp page: “”Erkhuu Khoto” is the Buryat name of the Irkutsk city, where “Khoto” means “City”. Buryats are the indigenous people of this area. The ensemble “Ayanga” (“Melody” Continue Reading
Yggdrasil & Vera Kondratieva — Timint Areh
Yggdrasil are a Faroese project led by multi-instrumentalist Kristian Blak (whom I had the pleasure, many years ago, of meeting in Varna, Bulgaria) and a host of local musicians along with singer Vera Kondratieva from Siberia. You would expect to hear a melding of Scandinavian and traditional Siberian music on Continue Reading