School is out for the summer. Let’s let Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald guide us into the vacation!
United States
Loren Nerell – Aquaticus
Aquaticus is a forgotten-about work by composer Loren Nerell, which he has decided to make public for the first time. From his Bandcamp site: “Around 2010 I was asked to provide some music for a film that was being used for an art gallery benefit. Most of the music ended Continue Reading
Leandro Fresco & Rafael Anton Irisarri – Una Presencia En La Brisa
Argentine composer Leandro Fresco and American artist Rafael Anton Irisarri have collaborated on several albums in the past, but this one might be their most intriguing yet. Each track exudes a cosmic atmosphere, with sounds cascading gently into an acid-like experience at times, only to lift back up into a Continue Reading
Jeff Gburek – The Bridge Of Many Shapes
Jeff Gburek is primarily recognized for his experimental music, but he uniquely blends psychedelic elements, tribal beats, and bone flute sounds into a gritty, lo-fi experience. This recording is one of my favorites by him because each track feels like a journey along a strange, forested road shrouded in haze, sometimes Continue Reading
JOHN 3:16 & EISENLAGER – De Lumière et d’Obscurité
This will be a tough one to review, I’m afraid. Mind you, it’s not about the music, which is stellar as our dear friend JOHN 3:16’s hellscapes never disappoint, nor the elegantly rhythmic grooves of EISENLAGER, who pairs magnificently well with Philippe Gerber’s lush compositions. This EP is more to Continue Reading
Dust Of Time – The Waking Hours
Greek composer Manolis Fasoulakis (Dust Of Time) joins with the Last American Poet, Shane Beck for an album which deftly combines Fasoulakis’ ethereal sonic landscapes with the haunting poetry of Beck. If you are into bands like Dead Can Dance, Lycia, Zahmia Lehmanni-era SPK or bands of this caliber, The Continue Reading
Fallen Sun I Sacher Pelz I Thomas Bey William Bailey – Acousmatomisation
Sacher Pelz is one of the early monickers of Maurizio Bianchi (MB, who is legendary to fans of experimental noise), and he returns in collaboration with consistently amazing Malaysian composer Fallen Sun and the American artist Thomas Bey William Bailey. As with a great deal of MB releases, this one Continue Reading
ARROWOUNDS – The Loneliness of the Hollow Earth Explorer Vol. 1
Thanks to our old friends at Lost Tribe Sound, who bring us the latest ARROWOUNDS album. The description at their Bandcamp site is absolutely grand: “A love letter to the Ohio River Valley, the Earthworks, and the esoteric mysteries of the cave systems in the Southern OH/KY regions. With weavings Continue Reading
Anthony Braxton – Quartet (Bristol) 1985
One of America’s foremost saxophonists, Anthony Braxton, collaborates with Marilyn Crispell on piano, Mark Dresser on double bass, and Gerry Hemingway on percussion. This music is as free as it gets, but has a slight film-noir soundtrack feel in parts. Impressive.
Helena Espvall / Ernesto Diaz-Infante / Marjorie Sturm – A Shadowed Fulguration
Thanks ever so much to Ernesto Diaz-Infante for alerting me to his latest release with percussionist and Nepalese flute player Marjorie Sturm (his spouse, if I am not mistaken) and cellist Helena Espvall. Musically, there is a gritty, lo-fi feel to the recordings, with the guitar sounding more like a Continue Reading