ZGA were an experimental music band who were based out of Riga, Latvia, and were seen form years as one of the leading lights of the then post-Soviet experimental and improvisational music scene.
Bandleader Nick Sudnick is still making music, and has been reissuing the ZGA back catalog on Bandcamp recently. This particular title brings fond memories as I had the pleasure of working with the venerable David Katznelson in bringing this album onto CD for the first time.
Faarwind are an ambient music band out of Kazakhstan’s former capital city and cultural powerhouse, Almaty. They produce a very gentle, lilting ambient music one can simply relax and unwind to. It blends in well with the natural sounds of the house, and the compositions have a very pleasant feel to them.
Nick Soulsby of The Vinyl Factory penned a nice retrospective on the best records the incredibly noisy (in a good way) Throbbing Gristle ever produced.
Rodion Roșca (in Romanian) was one of the most bizarre and enigmatic musicians to come out of Romania. He was known mainly by those into freaky experimental music or progressive rock. For a quick glimpse of Rodion’s work, check out this link.
HJ (Hector Javier) Ayala is a free-jazz/experimental guitarist originally from Mexico who is now residing in Strasbourg, France. His new release is experimental in the most relaxed and mellow sense of the word. A truly enjoyable release, especially since not only does HJ have his own style, but he references artists such as John Scofield, John Abercrombie (may his name be eternal) and even John Fahey (also, memory eternal). Gorgeous but challenging material here.
One of the wildest albums of the new year comes from Montreal composer Jean Derome. Even a quick look at the back of the CD, and one knows one is in for a treat: 20 performers on instruments ranging from tuned kalimbas to trombones. The tuning is to 60 Hz, the standard tuning of North American […]
via Jean Derome ~ Résistances — a closer listen
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We’re treated to the year’s first Bandcamp surprise, thanks to our beloved friend A.M Ferrari Fradejas, currently based in Barcelona, Spain.
Despite its 13-minute length, the composition packs a lot of time changes, churning guitars, an eerie choral section reminding one of a solstice ritual melded with her trademark progressive/improvisational sound. I hope that either a full album is forthcoming soon, or that works in this style are further expanded upon.
Blissful!
The incredibly prolific Jeff Gburek, currently based in Poland and partnering with violinist Karolina Ossowska, put together their latest labor of love, and though I don’t normally engage in Top-Ten lists for year’s end, I think it fair to say that this release is his most beautifully crafted, most thoughtful and profound releases.
The album was recorded in Romania and Poland between September 2016 and October 2017. On top of the incredible range of instrumentation, there are many field recordings which give a life to each track that one rarely finds in experimental music.
Of particular interest are the spoken word portions of Track #4, Hyperions 4 (Lift Not The Painted Veil). From the notes left by Gburek and Ossowska, the first text is a piece written by Percy Bysshe Shelley bearing the same name. The second is a work penned by Gburek himself. Both are read with a warm but darkened tone which envelops the listener as much as the instrumentation does.
Easily one of 2018’s best releases, regardless of genre.
We lost another legend today.
Percussionist Stefan Weisser, known to his fans and colleagues as Z’ev, passed on today at the age of 66. He left a body of work so important in experimental music that I expect tributes to pour out for days (including this one from our pals in Lithuania, Radikaliai!).
This free download is a release Z’ev did in Iceland in 2004. It gives a nice taste of what he could do with percussion.
Words fail to describe just how important Raffaele Pezzella’s contribution to dark ambient music is. He has singlehandedly curated compilations from artists as far away as Russia, Iceland, Iran and seemingly all points in-between while concentrating on his own venerable work. These two compilations house 229 tracks covering the best of the bleakest, blackest ambient available at the moment!
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