[Music] Sudan Archives – Escape

Sudan Archives is a vocalist and violinist who hails originally from Cincinnati, Ohio (what a shame she wasn’t directly from Khartoum with a band name like that, alas), and who is working out of Los Angeles, California, making her a local to me. Her Soundcloud page is active with some extremely interesting cuts which straddle the like of hip-hop (the good kind which actually sounds like art), electronic music, world music and R&B. I can’t wait to hear more from this talented artist.

[Music] Various Artists – Superspectrum

Superspectrum is a compilation featuring some of the finest dark ambient music active today. My personal favorite from this record is a track called Oblivion by Iranian composer Xerxes The Dark.

The label which released this comp, Eighth Tower Records, is a subdivision of Unexplained Sounds Group, run by Raffaele Pezzella, well known for his work with his project Sonologyst.

This is wonderful late-night headphone music.

[Music] The Orchestra of Mirrored Reflections – Dead Beat

This has to be the release of 2017, as least as far as March!

Our friends The Orchestra of Mirrored Reflections have graced our blog once before, in April of 2016 for a review of an incredible live performance in Odessa. The band return with a new, seven-track album which is as rich, dark and sumptuous as anything released by groups like the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, Bohren & der Club of Gore and other such acts. In fact, I’d be willing to say that the beauty of this album surpasses these stalwarts.

The album consists of smoky jazz that sits somewhere between fusion and trip-hop. The guitar playing is minimal, gentle, but totally in keeping with the darkness of the music. The drumming, however, is what makes the release for me. It is sparse, minimal, with singular beats, serving as a wonderful linchpin to the rest of the instrumentation floating above.

After such a splendid release, we wait more magic from the band