R.A. Carrera Ambient, Bandcamp, Drone, Experimental Music, Instrumental, MP3s, Music, Music Downloads, Music Technology, New Releases

[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.

R.A. Carrera Alternative/Indie, Ambient, Bandcamp, Black Ambient, Darkjazz, Drone, Electronica, Experimental Music, Gothic, Instrumental, MP3s, Music, Music Downloads, Music Reviews, Music Technology, New Releases, Rock

[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!

R.A. Carrera Ambient, Avant-Garde, Bandcamp, Black Ambient, Drone, Electroacoustic Music, Experimental Music, Improvisational, Industrial, Instrumental, MP3s, Music, Music Downloads, Music Reviews, Music Technology, New Releases, Rock

[Music] Jeton Hoxha – Vowel


I’m tempted to say that this release came from out of nowhere, but that simply wouldn’t be true.  Once again, my good friend Raffaelle from Eighth Tower Records releases a bombshell of a release for those of you who are into drone, especially of the kind made by luminaries like Thomas Köner or the Cold Meat Industry roster.

Jeton is a Macedonian sound artist from Struga, Macedonia, who goes deep in for bleak, rumbling sounds which give you a good shaking, especially if you decide to download the FLAC file and hear it on great headphones.

Essential.

R.A. Carrera Ambient, Art, Bandcamp, Black Ambient, Drone, Electroacoustic Music, Experimental Music, Gothic, Industrial, Instrumental, MP3s, Music, Music Downloads, Music Reviews, Music Technology, New Releases, Painting, Rock

[Music] Various Artists – Decay, Death and Darkness – Aural Visions Of Beksiński’s Art


Zdzisław Beksiński was a Polish multimedia artist whose utopian realist works stood in stark contrast to his rather jovial personal demeanor.  He may have been an artists whose work could scare the hell out of you, but he was also quite a decent man who had a fondness for classical music, as well as some rock (his son, Tomasz, was a noted DJ who committed suicide in 1999).

Once again, the brilliant folks at Eighth Tower Records, a subgroup of Unexplained Sounds, have released a compilation whose subject inspired some of the most brutally dark ambient music artists active to come up with some bleak aural monstrosities.

R.A. Carrera Alternative/Indie, Art-Rock, Bandcamp, Classic Rock, Drone, Experimental Music, Garage Rock, Instrumental, MP3s, Music, Music Downloads, Music Reviews, Music Technology, New Releases, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic, Rock

[Music] black (w)hole – altered states


black (w)hole are an Austrian drone-psych band who are covering similar ground to Masaki Batoh’s legendary group Ghost.  Don’t think that this is their only influence, however.  One can hear shards of Blue Cheer, The Melvins, and other Japanese psych bands like High Rise and White Heaven. This is well-recorded, powerful, and drone-laden enough to let your mind melt for a few moments. Recommended.

R.A. Carrera Ambient, Avant-Garde, Bandcamp, Contemporary Classical, Drone, Electroacoustic Music, Experimental Music, Improvisational, Industrial, Instrumental, MP3s, Music, Music Downloads, Music Reviews, Music Technology, New Releases, Retrospectives, Rock

[Music] Various Artists – ELECTROFRAMEWORK


Unexplained Sounds empresario Raffaele Pezzella is on a quest to make sure the best in experimental and electroacoustic music gets published.  It seems like, week after week, he is releasing a compilation of stunning quality from a specified region, a broad retrospective, or his own delightfully noisy work as Sonologyst.

These tracks might melt your headphones a bit, but the sounds are, in their own way, blissful.  Familiar names such as Sonologyst, Stefan Schmidt, Fahmi Mursyid and Thomas Grenzebach appear alongside a slew of new artists whose career trajectory will be interesting to follow.

Another masterpiece of a comp.

R.A. Carrera Avant-Garde, Bandcamp, Classical Music, Contemporary Classical, Drone, Electroacoustic Music, Experimental Music, Improvisational, Instrumental, MP3s, Music, Music Downloads, Music Reviews, Music Technology

[Music] Ilir Lluka – An Étude In Two Variations


Albanian sound artist and composer Ilir Lluka is one of a new generation of experimental music composers carrying the torch passed along by his forebears like Pierre Henry and Pierre Schaeffer.  Each release has been outstanding, engaging listening for me, and this particular album is offered as a free download.  It’s worth a few moments of your time.