Since the weather has been hovering near the 10-degree Celsius mark this evening, now would be the perfect time to share a chilly, yet inviting, ambient album courtesy of the blog’s friend, Robert Scott Thompson. Though this release is available through Acousmatique Recordings, he also has his own Bandcamp site worth perusing.
[Music] E.E. Engström & The Twin Street Tree Trunk Love Ensemble – Small Town Curse
Darkjazz goes film noir. E.E. Engström & The Twin Street Tree Trunk Love Ensemble provide a gorgeous soundtrack to enjoy a dry martini with. Imagine the aforementioned Darkjazz mixed with something that would make Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (gone instrumental) proud, not to mention having a twang of creepy country. The vibe is dark, unsettling, and hopefully just a taste of what should be an amazing 2019 for the group.
Should you have a Spotify account, I suggest adding the group here.
[Music] La Maison Dieu – Earth
Only one track on this release, but it’s a winner! La Maison Dieu are a band out of Istanbul, Turkey who combine elements of EDM, old-school lo-fi electronic music and a touch of cheese in the vein of Giorgio Moroder. I’m digging this!
[Music] Astral & Shit -XĤ
Though I’m not a big fan of bands who release new music almost daily, there are a handful whose work I enjoy in small doses. One of these is the Russian project Astral & Shit. Yes, I know, lovely name, but the music is soothing enough to let one drift into the Solaris Ocean when one is feeling a bit exhausted from the daily grind.
With well over 660 releases to their credit, I’m not about to become a completist, but it’s nice to know that there are artists who are putting out high-quantity/high-quality ambient music to keep my ears busy.
[Music] Bandcamp Weekly December 11, 2018
It’s been a while since I posted, thanks to a heavy work schedule ending in a small vacation for me, so I return with this week’s Bandcamp Weekly, featuring Joseph Malik, who went from suffering debilitating mental illness to making a slew of brilliant albums and having a fire inside him to make much more.
Check out this week’s podcast, hosted by Andrew Jervis, here.
[Music] MIKROMATIQUE / Jan-Dirk Platek – Samt | Inner Silence
This particular release by German composers Jan-Dirk Platek and MIKROMATIQUE clocks in at just over five minutes, but it’s a very worthy post-rock, post-ambient, post-modern classical work.
Consider following Platek on Bandcamp. Every now and again, he offers his whole catalog for a very low price, and he tends to release gems.
[Music] Midnight Radio – NOIR JAZZ
I never thought I’d review a Signora Ward release here, namely due to a prejudice I’ve developed against modern noise, as too many releases sound like some idiot kid flipping on the vacuum and then recording it, and THEN having the nerve to expect someone to pay for that garbage. Thankfully, I was wrong about this particular label. Perdonami, Signora!
This compilation is a teachable moment for me. Never, ever judge a record label by one or two releases, as every one of them have the capacity to surprise you with something utterly brilliant.
Thanks to groups like the Orchestra of Mirrored Reflections (friends of the blog whose works have been reviewed here in the past) and the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, I’ve begun to fall in love with the deep, creepy, noir-ish sounds they emanate. Signora Ward have done a service in collection some of the leading lights of the darkjazz genre together to make one of the most enjoyable collections I’ve heard in a while.
I’ll do well to pay more attention to this label in the future!
