My goodness! I knew my friends in the band Zereshhad a new album out, but I wasn’t expecting an epic! Farewelldoes an amazing job of combining the good elements of the early Pink Floyd sound and melds it together with neofolk. Tamar Singer’s vocals are otherworldly, quite rich and unique in this genre. I mean this literally!
Also, as this is considered atmospheric black metal in the genre section of the Bandcamp site, I would have expected more shrieking and screaming. Thank God, no noise like that on this release. It would have ruined the truly dark, foreboding vibe that Zereshwere giving to me while preparing for a long day at work. I enjoyed this one immensely.
The Story Of Damon and His Psychedelic Cult Classic, Song Of A Gypsy. For any collector of psychedelia whose fortunate enough to find a copy of Damon’s Song Of A Gypsy, it quickly becomes one of their most prized possessions. Sadly, finding an original copy of Song Of A Gypsy is another thing. It’s one of the rarest psychedelic […]
Raffaele Pezzella of Eighth Tower Records continues to show what a magical ear he has for new music artists. His latest release is by composer Scottish composer Michael Bonaventure, who makes full use out of the organ. There are bits of sci-fi music, creepy soundtrack clips, electroacoustic music in the style of Pierre Henry’s freakier compositions, and a hazy, psychedelic vibe throughout. It’s not overpowering, either, which I think adds to the enjoyment of listening to this record. It’s challenging without beating you over the head with racket. A job well done.
Benjamin Finney’s work has been reviewed on our blog in the past, as he’s really a fine guitarist, but it finally dawned on me whose work seems to influence and inform his playing. John Fahey. No doubt about it. He has the American primitive sound mastered so well that he’s able to mold it however he wishes. Fahey was utterly brilliant at that. Expect Benjamin to have that same legacy one of these days.
RUTH GARBUS – Kleinmeister (Orindal, 2019)* Non è un semplice album di cantautorato femminile il secondo lavoro sulla lunga distanza di Ruth Garbus, artista del Vermont che da solista ha pubblicato un altro paio di Ep nel corso di oltre un decennio, nel quale è stata tra l’altro voce e batterista degli Happy Birthday, band […]
Mexico has contributed so mightily to the canon of songs that quality as high art that it’s impossible to keep track of these gems, but, at least to my ears, none is more impressive, more beautiful or more haunting that this classic Huapangolove song interpreted by the legendary Javier Solís, though in this version, the actual interpreter is Enrique Cáceres.
The lyrics to the song are below:
Qué bonitos ojos tienes
Debajo de esas dos cejas
Debajo de esas dos cejas
Qué bonitos ojos tienes
Ellos me quieren mirar
Pero si tú no los dejas
Pero si tú no los dejas
Ni siquiera parpadear
Malagueña salerosa
Besar tus labios quisiera
Besar tus labios quisiera
Malagueña salerosa
Y decirte niña hermosa
Eres linda y hechicera
Eres linda y hechicera
Como el candor de una rosa
Si por pobre me desprecias
Yo te concedo razón
Yo te concedo razón
Si por pobre me desprecias
Yo no te ofrezco riquezas
Te ofrezco mi corazón
Te ofrezco mi corazón
A cambio de mi pobreza
Malagueña salerosa
Besar tus labios quisiera
Besar tus labios quisiera
Malagueña salerosa
Y decirte nina hermosa
Eres linda y hechicera
Que eres linda y hechicera
Como el candor de una rosa
Y decirte niña hermosa
In English:
What beautiful eyes you have Under those two eyebrows Under those two eyebrows What beautiful eyes you have
They want to look at me But if you don’t let them But if you don’t let them Don’t even blink
Malagueña salerosa Kissing your lips would like Kissing your lips would like Malagueña salerosa
And telling you beautiful girl
You’re pretty and sorceress You’re pretty and sorceress Like the candor of a rose
If you despise me for poor I grant you reason I grant you reason If you despise me for poor
I do not offer you riches I offer you my heart I offer you my heart In exchange for my poverty
Malagueña salerosa Kissing your lips would like Kissing your lips would like Malagueña salerosa
And tell you beautiful girl
You are pretty and sorceress That you are pretty and sorceress Like the candor of a rose
This new 45-minute EP by our friend Robert Scott Thompson is part of a new cycle of releases called Pluviophilia. This work is a good sample of what a magnificent series we’re going to be treated to.
Robert’s work is reminiscent of the works of Robert Rich and Steve Roach. With time, his name should be held in the same regard as these two maestros are. This new generation make incredibly vital compositions.
Ambient music composer Max Corbacho has been producing soundscapes for 21 years now, and in this (free) release, he explores drone in a way that washes over the listener like waves in an ocean. It’s an all-encompassing release, worth your time and any contribution you can give to it financially. From Max’s Bandcamp website:
Dear friends,
After the reissue of Ars Lucis, I am glad to greet you again. My new album “Echo Of Longing” is now available for digital download exclusively from my Bandcamp store. The CD version will be ready in a few weeks, I will let you know the exact day of release later. Exceptionally and only for a short time, you can download it on offer under the option “Name your price” (pay from zero to whatever you want). After a few weeks will be available for all other online stores at full price. Download here. Thanks as always for your support! Stay tuned, more news soon.
All the best,
Max Corbacho
Hypnotic and minimalist soundscapes of an artist in constant search for authenticity and depth. In “Echo Of Longing” Max Corbacho offers three long pieces that are a distant resonance of a feeling that lives inside the human heart and constantly pushes the soul in its search for self-discovery. Through soft sound full of details, such as echoes of perception beyond words, the minimalist and repetitive structure of these subtle sound worlds creates an enveloping sea of stillness. Under a protective mantle of silky incorporeality, as dark and blurred as distant waves, the three long tracks, lasting more than 73 minutes in total, cross silent corridors of sonic energy, slowly changing but always retaining a subtle main harmonic current that continues its way underground. The piece that gives the album its title was created during the sessions for the album “Future Terrain” in 2015, so they are twin pieces that share a common origin. Successive modifications during 2019 have resulted in the piece that now appears in this album. The remaining two pieces were created during the first months of 2019. As if it were the resonance of music spreading through space and time, the cover image also reflects waves expanding in an atmosphere of stillness and deep introspection. These long cyclic waves arranged in layers of blurred sound are one of Max Corbacho’s trademarks, a constant that we can hear in all his albums as if it were another resonance suspended in time and permeating all his works.
This album is an atmospheric and ambient work suitable for listening to at a subliminal level while it gently impregnates one’s space or when listened to at a high level, one can delve deeply into gaseous soundscapes. “Echo of Longing” has been lovingly and expertly crafted by an artist now celebrating a 21-year career without any concession to the commercial or mainstream, faithful to a genre and an audience.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 