No wishes, no hopes for the year, just a pleasant way to gently slide into 2024. We launch with Jeff Gburek’s latest release, of which he provides notes on his Bandcamp site: “Still Life with a Question Mark came together as an album rather quickly after I discovered loops unused Continue Reading
United States
Heritage Bagpipes – The Angel Gabriel
As we celebrate (at least on the Western Calendar) the birth of Jesus, the Christ, I leave you this evening with a traditional tune once performed by Sting under another name (Gabriel’s Message), this time played on bagpipes by staff at Heritage Bapipes.
Blacknall Arts – Lessons & Carols: Live from Blacknall Church
As Advent nears its finish and we prepare to celebrate the Nativity, we have a rather charming Protestant offering from Blacknall Arts which wouldn’t sound out of place to Fairport Convention fans.
Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang – Azure
Two masters of drone at their peak after two decades of collaboration. From the duo’s Bandcamp site: “Since beginning to work together as a duo in the early 2000s, Kang and Kenney have collaborated on sound installations, music for orchestra, choir, and mixed ensembles in addition to releasing numerous widely Continue Reading
post doom romance – prairie transmissions
Post Doom Romance presents a new album of some of the gentlest “noise” I’ve ever heard. The tones are low, sparse, and somehow calming. Perfect for cold-weather headphone listening.
Various Artists – Magnificent Sounds Records: A Chant About the Beauty of the Moon at Night: Hawaiian Steel Guitar Masters 1913-1921
Magnificent Sounds Records is a record label out of Buffalo, New York, and they specialize in rare archival recordings and remastering music from a century ago in a lot of cases. From this magnificent compilation of Hawaiian music, you can read the promo quote on the label’s Bandcamp site. “A Continue Reading
Fabiano Do Nascimento – Mundo Solo
The indubitable Far Out Records have produced what might be my favorite record of 2023, a guitar album by Brazilian guitarist and fellow Los Angeleno Fabiano do Nascimiento. I’ll let the label’s crack promo team describe this absolute beauty of a record below: “Adopting Hermeto Pascoal’s concept of Universal Music, Continue Reading
Pyroclastic – Life is an Illusion
Pyroclastic is the brainchild of former member of the Los Angeles Das Bunker Collective Ryant Takai, who was one of the few musicians promoting genres like Industrial Dance, Electronic Body Music and Power Noise. From main member Ryant Takai’s Bandcamp site: “The second coming album focuses on the continuing of Continue Reading
Jeff Gburek – The Radio & The Sea
Jeff Gburek’s latest album is not a departure from his carefully crafter work, but a continuation of his honing sounds together, weaving them in a way that the early musique-concrète composers could not have imagined. Drones, pulses and the sounds of Burgas, Bulgaria, are blended to produce an immersive soundscape. Continue Reading
Earthtones & Etsegenet Mekonnen – Selam
This is a rather glorious single pairing American DJ Earthtones with Ethiopian singer Etsegenet Mekonnen. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “Selam is a vision of peace. This collaboration between producer/DJ Earthtones and Ethiopian musician/vocalist Etsegenet Mekonnen features haunting vocals sung in Amharic. Analog & semi-modular synths combine with 909 drums Continue Reading