One simple track out of Moldova, but it’s one of the best neofolk tracks I’ve heard in a long time. It’s wonderful to find out about Via Dacă, and for good music out of Moldova in general.
Month: August 2019
[Music] Naujawanan Baidar – Volume 1
It’s not everyday you come across Afghan experimental music recorded in the Arizona heat. Myrrors vocalist/guitarist N.R. Safi had composed these tracks as mere impressions (expect a Volume 2 to be released shortly), but the quality of these pieces stand out. These could hold their own with the best of 1980’s cassette culture. A brilliant debut, though Safi is planning to do a properly recorded album sometime soon, adding to his psychedelic CV.
[Music] Glåsbird – Svalbarð
This album by Glåsbird is so utterly enthralling to my ears that I feel like the angels are talking to me at the moment. There is a sense of a cool peace that this album is making me feel at the moment in a grimy, grotesque Beijing that I have to thank the creators of this sublime work for their efforts to keep me sane in this very, very odd place.
From the Whitelabrecs Bandcamp site:
In February 2019 we released the debut album by an anonymous artist named Glåsbird, in the form of Grønland, a sonic expedition of Greenland. The album received much critical acclaim despite being from an anonymous artist and was even featured on Bandcamp Daily under their ‘best Ambient’ feature. CD copies of this record have long since sold out, but the Glåsbird continues its flight to a new destination: Svalbard.
Svalbard lies 78 degrees north, is inside the Arctic Circle and had a population of around 2600 people and an estimated 3000 polar bears! Its calendar year divides between the midnight sun and the polar nights. The former is a period of constant daylight and the latter is the opposite. However, the dark season is broken from time to time by spectacular Northern Lights.
In Svalbarð, Glåsbird became immersed once more in this next excursion, through means of Google Earth, 360° photos, blogger accounts of the isles, maps and also, videos by Efterklang who were an obvious reference point with the band having visited.
This time, we are treated to a greater number of tracks, as ten movements weave Modern Classical influenced Ambient soundscapes. The pristine, polished reverb of Grønland is replaced with a slightly muddier, more lo-fi approach to the sound as the artist strived to present a tape-eroded aesthetic to their work. The recordings deal with dramatic landscapes, glaciers, an abandoned coal community, a seed vault, the Island’s capital city Longyearbyen and of course, polar bears. Each piece feels icy cold, yet the warmth and hiss provided by the decaying tape effects provide a comfort blanket for the listener as perhaps you take in these scenes from a lonely cabin, at one with isolation and natural beauty.The packaging for the album includes photography from Svalbard itself, courtesy of Aldona Pivoriene who is a professional photographer based in Norway. We are also set to release the next Glåsbird album next year. Where will the destination be? For now, we hope you enjoy immersing yourself in this new set of works exploring Svalbard.
Cold-climate ambient.
[Music] Art Zoyd – Génération Sans Futur
I must have been about 17 years old when a disc called Symphonie pour le jour où brûleront les cités, Musique pour l’Odyssée and Archives 1, performed by a band I had never heard of called Art Zoyd, kept staring me in the face, while I heard voices in my wallet saying, “Take it.” I had just recently discovered Univers Zero, a contemporary band, and was told by the ever-knowledgeable staff at Rhino Records in Claremont, California, that it was a winner. Indeed, it was, and it was unlike anything I had ever heard up until that point. Chamber-rock wasn’t in my vocabulary at the time, but that would be the term which fit the band best. It’s good to see this album in its proper form, but I really do hope that Sub Rosa, who took the time to do such a wonderful job producing this disc, re-releases Art Zoyd’s whole back catalog, including bonus tracks. Each disc has been worth it.
[Music] Various Artists – MUSIC FROM THE SONOTON LIBRARY 1969 – 1981: RARE PSYCH, MOOGS & BRASS
As lounge music and easy listening were massive during the 1990’s, library music seems to be the rage for today. So many labels are releasing wonderful compilations that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with what’s coming out, and what belongs on the top shelf. Buried Treasure Records seems to have come out with the year’s best library comp, which also happens to be available on vinyl and CD. Check out these tracks by no-name artists who deserved a better fate than to be forgotten for so long. All the material is brilliant!
[Spoken Word] Paul Bowles – Black Star at the Point of Darkness
Paul Bowles was uniquely gifted in how he portrayed his beloved Sahara Desert, as well as the stories who heard and wrote in Morocco. Even better is his reading of said material, done with the elegance of a master storyteller.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 