[Music] Various Artists – 1+1=X

July 3, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

A hearty congratulations to Erased Tapes who turn 10 years old this year. This compilation features 20 exclusive tracks from their mighty roster, and not one is a disappointment.

1. Qasim Naqvi – Brutal Moderna 04:18
2. A Winged Victory For The Sullen – Long May It Sustain 04:20
3. Rival Consoles – Ritual Song 05:10
4. Nils Frahm – Frau Dehlholm 03:05
5. Daniel Thorne – Iroise 05:47
6. Daniel Brandt – Blackpool Sands Forever 05:11
7. Douglas Dare – Darling 08:13
8. Michael Price – Eyn Hallow 04:17
9. Kiasmos & Högni – Zebra 03:43
10. Ben Lukas Boysen – Pending 04:44
11. David Allred – Ahoy 04:49
12. Anne Müller – Bel Tono 03:30
13. Lubomyr Melnyk – Palisade I 17:03
14. Hatis Noit – Inori 04:44
15. Masayoshi Fujita – Spaceship Magical 04:05
16. Högni – Máni 03:56
17. Peter Broderick – The Perpetual Glow 05:23
18. Arthur Jeffes & Nils Frahm – Up Is Good 05:35
19. Daniel Brandt – Blackpool Sands Forever (Rival Consoles Remix) 04:27
20. Penguin Cafe – Wheels Within Wheels (Greg Gives Peter Space Remix) 06:09

[Music] Santiago Fradejas – Electric Guitar Vol. II: Yeshua

June 7, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / 1 Comment

Our friend Santiago Fradejas has returned with his most powerful album to date. From what I understand, these soundscapes were all done with an electric guitar. He makes the most out of his weapon of choice, convincingly straddling the terrains of instrumental amplified guitar music, post-Industrial, and a very eerie take on contemporary classical/avant-garde music.

[Music] Soliman Gamil – A Map of Egypt Before the Sands

May 20, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

It’s for albums like this that I have such a love of Bandcamp. This release originally came out in 1997, and was a collection of pieces of Soliman Gamil’s other records for the Touch Label. Though they would have made lovely soundtrack music, it’s more an exploration of and experimentation with Egyptian classical music. A well-done reissue by Mike Harding and Touch.

[Music] Manja Ristić – The Nightfall

April 27, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

Manja Ristić is a Serbo-Croatian violinist and experimental music composer whose works have left me captivated. This latest release, The Nightfall, collects for compositions inspired by the seasons. From her Bandcamp site:

In haiku poetry, “Kigo” is a seasonal reference, a word or group of words which locates the poem in a season of the year, the seasonal association helping the reader imagine the atmosphere and settings of the poem more vividly. Kigo evokes memories and feelings which vary depending on the readers themselves: their active role is crucial in haiku poetry as different cultural and historical backgrounds may lead to a different interpretation of the poem.

The release was made available by London-based label Naviar Records yesterday.

[Music] Aisha Orazbayeva – Telemann Fantasias

April 22, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / 1 Comment

Aisha Orazbayeva is London-based violinist who originally hails from Kazakhstan. She has become a new favorite master of the instrument who easily balances a mastery of avant-garde contemporary music (think of compositions by Luciano Berio and Morton Feldman) and the sumptuous compositions of Georg Philipp Telemann, whose works were the bridge way from the Baroque Era into the Classical Era.

[Music] Ambient Landscape – Veronica III

April 14, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

Long, slow, elegant, nearly neo-classical ambient music, courtesy of the most appropriately named Ambient Landscape.

[Music] Leila Abdul-Rauf – Diminution

April 9, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

The first time I came across San Francisco, California resident Leila Abdul-Rauf’s name was when she was playing with the all-female avant-garde metal/dark ambient band Amber Asylum. She has become a far more powerful musician as time has passed (if you know anything about her previous work, that’s very high praise), and, given the brutal darkness of the one track shared, this new album should end up quaking my speakers rather badly (and yes, I’m looking forward to that).

The album is due to be released on April 13.

[Music] Alessandra Celletti – Sacred Honey

April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / 2 Comments

My old friend and former business partner, Michael Sheppard (who passed away a few years ago far too young), did me the honor of introducing me to the work of Italian pianist Alessandra Celletti. His label, Transparency Records, featured four of her works including a collaboration with German/Austrian Krautrock legend Hans-Joachim Roedelius.

I’ve had the pleasure of keeping in contact with her, and she has graciously notified me of her latest album, Sacred Honey, her second album dedicated to the compositions of Georges I. Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann. It is available on Bandcamp as a CD (though not as a download, unfortunately) and for streaming above, courtesy of Spotify. For the first album inspired by Gurdjieff/de Hartmann, listen to it at Deezer.

The CDs ship out on April 15, just in time for Tax Day.

[Music] Zinovia Arvanitidi ~ Ivory (Happy Piano Day)

March 28, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

Many thanks to the writer postrockcafe over at A Closer Listen Blog for reminding us about Piano Day, a little holiday of sorts invented by Nils Frahm to take place on the 88th day of the year.

Equally important is the fact that Greek pianist Zinovia Arvanitidi, whose latest release, Ivory, was reviewed by us in February of this year, has released her debut on vinyl, courtesy of the Kitchen Label.

[Music] David Borden / Mother Mallard – The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Parts 5-8

March 27, 2018 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

Thanks to the Good Lord above for giving the world Steve Feigenbaum and Cuneiform Records, who continue to release, digitally, their amazing wares.

David Borden and Mother Mallard have their roots in American minimalist music. This particular release is the middle section of a 12-part series of variations for minimalism in the same way the Goldberg Variations were for Johann Sebastian Bach and classical music.