Kirill Makushin (who also records under Kirill M and Crows In The Garden) is no stranger to this blog. He’s a bayan player who works well with experimental composition. In this EP for the Fake Cat Project (his new band), he works with the legendary Russian avant-garde music stalwart Alexei Borisov, and Igor Levshin, who contributes ‘vocals’ (meows, really).
Improvisational
[Video] Ganelin, Chekasin, Tarasov – Semplice (II)
I really owe all of my passion for Eastern European/Soviet Improvisational and Experimental music to one man: Leo Feigin of Leo Records. It was through his introduction, via his catalog and a few letters back and forth, that I was introduced to such artists as Vyacheslav Ganelin (the Ganelin Trio’s leader, now based in Israel), Sergei Belichenko and Roman Stolyar, a friend to this day.
Here is the Ganelin Trio near the peak of their improvisational powers. Vladimir Tarasov and Vladimir Chekasin join in.
[Video] Николай Ооржак / Nikolay Oorzhak – Throat Singing
Nikolay Oorzhak hails from the Russian Republic of Tuva, land of so many incredible musicians. He gives a demonstration of Khöömei, or throat singing, in a shamanic context.
[Video] Frank Bretschneider – Crisis? What Crisis?
Frank Bretschneider is one of the few composers who can make a glitchy racket actually sound like it makes sense. Beautifully recorded and composed.
[Sample] NichelOdeon – FI(j)ùRU D’ACQUA
Up until today, I knew nothing about NichelOdeon. It seems that the name is a monicker for Italian composer Claudio Milano, who is based in Fragagnano, Italy.
After going through a few tracks (this one being my favorite), I’m looking forward to seeing this project develop!
GRM on Bandcamp!
Holy smokes! The legendary INA-GRM Record Label out of Paris, France, which housed some of the most legendary names in electroacoustic and avant-garde music, has decided to release selected titles as downloads via Bandcamp, and at reasonable prices!
[Video] Grateful Dead with Ornette Coleman – The Other One 2-23-93
I’m not a big fan of The Grateful Dead’s studio recordings. However, they were rather sublime live. And when they are paired with one of the giants of free jazz in Ornette Coleman, magic happens.
[Video] Mother Gong – Every Witches Way (Full Album)
With the passing of Daevid Allen, I’m monitoring a lot of Gong-related activity. Coming across this piece of weirdness, courtesy of Gilli Smyth, is both amusing and cringe-inducing in a wonderful way.
Special thanks to Dave Read who posted this.
[Video] Bar Kokhba Sextet – Zechriel
John Zorn’s wonderful Bar Kokhba Sextet, off their album, Lucifer: Book of Angels, Vol. 10. An unpleasant name for such incredible music.
[Video] Sergey Kuryokhin – Mystics
Sergey Kuryokhin was, by far, the most influential and most widely recognized avant-garde musician to come out of Russia in the 1980s. Both alone and with the Ensemble Pop-Mekhanika, he made music which was extreme even to American tastes. Here is an absurdist sample of his work.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 