I bought this album quite a while ago, but never had the chance to sit with it properly until this week. It’s a well-done mix of clarinet and experimental electronic music composed by David Rothenberg and Bernhard Wöstheinrich, taking their cues from some famous authors, including my personal favorite, Jorge Luis Borges.
‘Beautifully lo-fi’ is perhaps the best way I can describe Jeff Gburek’s latest release on Muteant Records, a company you will be hearing plenty about on this blog.. The tracks have the rawness of the early Dunedin sound (think Roy Montgomery, Alastair Galbraith and labels like XPressway and Flying Nun Records. It’s still grounded in Jeff’s trademark guitar work, but with some elements that feel like they would be home on an ethnographic record of some culture in a hidden-away island in the Indonesian archipelago. Don’t ask why, just listen, especially to Undead 8. You can see more of Jeff’s…
Ulaan Passerine is one of many aliases used by Los Angeles-based guitarist Steven R. Smith. This latest album is a shimmery walk into guitar instrumental territory. Smith produces an elegant kind of instrumental music that would sit well with both post-rock fans and those into a more mellow psychedelic vibe. Think along the terms of the band Oregon as a reference. Not ‘easy’ listening, but ‘gentle’ listening. Well done.
Post Doom Romance is a project between Mykel Boyd and Seah, and their collaboration produces a collection of sweeping drones dedicated to their supporters, immortalizing them on disc. A noble project, but more importantly, the sound is engaging and hooks the listener into a pleasant ambient lull.
Lost Tribe Sound has another release featured this week! This one pairs two leading composers, Dag Rosenqvist & Aaron Martin, working together creating a filmic masterpiece. The music is tense, influenced by everything from classical music to ethereal. From the press release: “American and Swedish composers Aaron Martin and Dag Rosenqvist came together in 2011 under the name FROM THE MOUTH OF THE SUN. Their first album Woven Tide was released by Experimedia in 2012 and they returned in 2015 for their second album Into the Well. In 2016, three pieces from Woven Tide played an integral role in David…
A bliss-filled release from out mappa Records out of Slovakia from a new name, Plume Girl. I’ll let the label describe this rather ethereal bit of emo folk, which you can read in full at their Bandcamp release site: “Already in its title, Plume Girl’s debut thoroughly lets things go and takes them in – all at once. “In the End We Begin” is the first solo full-length from Sowmya Somanath, a Hindustani classical singer/composer and half of alt-pop duo Felt Out. Plume Girl’s music takes inspiration from the semi-regular musical form of the rāga (translated as ‘tinting’), invoking mood…
Canary Records is at it again. As a Los Angelino, I have to say I didn’t know there was much of a Judeo-Spanish community here, though it does make sense, as many Spanish and Mexican families may very well have Sephardic roots hidden from the Catholic majority. The recordings are spectacular considering the age of the shellacs (thanks to Ian Nagoski’s incredible mastering work), and it’s nice to hear Jack Mayesh crooning in a Spanish from another angle.
Robert Scott Thompson, the ambient music alchemist, has released several new albums recently, but I wanted to start with Placid, a rather chilling work that references works by the maestros (Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Klaus Schulze), a touch of Warszawa-period Brian Eno/David Bowie, and his own more musical compositional bent.
The Jagaloons are an instrumental surf/garage-rock band out of Albany, New York. They have the energy of a punk band, the suaveness of those who play exotica, and can work in spaghetti western themes into their music. Brilliant stuff.
Fellow giromondo Jeff Gburek offers another incredibly profound album, balancing perfectly his own signature experimental sound touched with folk and blues, with the spirits of Robbie Basho and John Fahey once again coming along for the ride. For the influence behind this album, please consider taking the time to read his liner notes at the release page here.