• Music

    Svaneborg Kardyb – Over Tage

    December 5, 2022 - By 

    Svaneborg Kardyb is a remarkably cool band Denmark, with elements of nu-jazz, Scandinavian folk and a similarity with more free bands on the ECM label, though these lads call Gondwana Records home these days.  From the band’s Bandcamp site. “Svaneborg Kardyb are Nikolaj Svaneborg – Wurlitzer, Juno, piano and Jonas Kardyb – drums, percussion a multi award winning duo from Denmark, where they won two “grammys” at the Danish Music Awards Jazz 2019: New artist of the year and Composer of the year. 
Drawing on Danish folk music and Scandinavian jazz influences, including Nils Frahm, Esbjörn Svennson and Jan Johansson’s…

  • Music

    Niobe Poitier – Poemas Perdidos (To J. L. Borges)

    November 28, 2022 - By 

    Today’s wee sonic adventure comes from a Berlin-based composer called Niobe Poitier.  What fascinated me about this release was that she was using the voice of my favorite author, Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, his voice and his works as his source material.  The feel of the tracks, especially The Other (El Otro), are otherworldly.  Some of the most satisfying headphone listening I’ve had in a good, long while.

  • Music

    Siavash Amini & Eugene Thacker – Songs for Sad Poets

    September 26, 2022 - By 

    Siavash Amini, an Iranian sound artist and composer, collaborates on this album with author and poet Eugene Thacker on Songs for Sad Poets, though I hear no vocals on this disc.  What is on offer, however, are incredibly bleak soundscapes that range from engaging dark ambient music which settles well in headphones to abrasive post-Industrial music which tears at the eardrums in a most pleasant way.  From the pair’s Bandcamp site for this release: The collection of eight pieces draws its inspiration from the legacy of the so-called cursed poets (»poètes maudits«) as well as the German-language tradition of song…

  • Music

    Viul & Benoît Pioulard – Konec

    August 18, 2022 - By 

    A Strangely Isolated Place provides us with a fine pairing. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “With an immediate arresting aesthetic, grounded in saturation, decay and distortion, tracks such as ‘Returning Clear Voice’ or ‘Flaxen’ reflect some of the duo’s more textured work – a hazy mist of life unknown in a city’s uncharted times. Konec’s storyful and engrossing moments come with a confident posture, such as the unforgettable bellowing of ‘Catalune’ or ‘Construction Worker Smoke Cycle’ or the swirling, haunting ‘Canon’. “

  • Music

    Various Artists – The Dystopian World of J​.​ G​.​Ballard

    July 15, 2022 - By 

    Our dear friend Raffaelle Pellezza has curated another masterful compilation of dark ambient music focused on the British writer J. G. Ballard.  From the release’s Bandcamp site: “In April 2009, J. G. Ballard died at the age of 78. By the end of his life he was recognized as one of the greatest British writers of the latter half of the twentieth century. The acclaim his work has garnered stems from its unsettling ability to describe the present in collision with near but unexpected futures. His narratives operate according to the temporalities of car crashes, epidemics, and physiological shocks. The…

  • Music

    Cousin Silas – Variations On A Theme Of Winter

    June 29, 2022 - By 

    First, a debt of thanks goes to my friend, the “Last American Poet,” Shane Beck, for reminding me what a sublime album this is from Cousin Silas, who was a friend of my previous blog, and an artist whose work I respect immensely.  This album is filled with wispy rhythms that let you relax and get lost in thought, something like melding George Winston with the Durutti Column, but with more of an edge to it.  Our dear Cousin delivers yet again.

  • Music

    Chris Child & Micah Frank – Tape Pieces Vol​​.​​ 3

    April 26, 2022 - By 

    Chris Child & Micah Frank are two incredible composers out of the New England area of the United States.  From this particular release’s Bandcamp site: Tape Pieces Vol. 3 represents the final installment in the collaboration between composer/producer Chris Child (Kodomo) and sound artist Micah Frank. Volume 3 culminates in a rich cacophony of noise and emotional charge while still remaining subdued in a contemplative state. Chris and Micah continue exploring simple asynchronous micro loops, layering upon them until what emerges becomes a rich ecosystem of interwoven parts, embracing unexpected noises and sounds disintegrating. It is perhaps the most experimental…

  • Music

    Federico Mosconi – Air Sculptures

    April 5, 2022 - By 

    Our friends at Lost Tribe Sound have at least three releases coming up which will be reviewed here.  I’m pretty excited to introduce you to ambient composer Federico Mosconi, whose compositions feel cavernous, made more impressive that he’s pulling this together with guitar and effects.  For those of you who appreciate the work of Spanish composer Rafael Anton Irisarri, you’re going to love Mosconi’s work.