Elektro Moskva, directed by Elena Tikhonova & Dominik Spritzendorfer, shows the history of electronic music in Russia from the works of Léon Theremin to the ANS synthesizer used by such luminaries as Eduard Artemiev (famous for his soundtracks to the films of Andrei Tarkovsky) and beyond. I’m very much looking forward to seeing this when time permits.
Improvisational
[Music] Roberto Romero Molina – Escandinavia por Ala Delta
This must be a great week for Bandcamp. This release features a young Mexican composer called Roberto Romero Molina, whose work falls somewhere between electroacoustic music and something reminiscent of a sci-fi movie. A short, but brilliant, release.
[Music] Demi Broxa – Agnes Hvizdalek (voice) & Jakob Schneidewind (bass, electronics)
Agnes Hvizdalek & Jakob Schneidewind, who go by the group name Demi Broxa, are two experimental music artists working out of Vienna, Austria. This piece doesn’t seem to have a title to it, but it showcases how well both musicians blend in with each other.
[Music] Geronimo Arafat – To Writhe Amongst The Lepers
Geronimo Arafat are an experimental music project based in Los Angeles which has been in operation since around 2011. For those of you who remember the experimental music cassette culture of the 1980s and early 1990s, and love bands like The Residents, Sun City Girls, Merzbow or even early Nurse With Wound, this project is VERY much worth exploring.
[Music] Letha Rodman Melchior – Edymion/MWCIE
There’s little worse, from a musical standpoint, than discovering an artist whose work gleams brightly after she has left this mortal coil, and from cancer, that cruel killer. Letha Rodman Melchior was a painter of some renown as well as a composer of fine experimental music. She hailed from Durham, North Carolina, and recorded for Siltbreeze Records, with whom she released two absolutely stunning albums: Handbook For Mortals from 2013, and Shimmering Ghosts, released posthumously in 2015.
[Music] Aaron Dilloway & Jason Lescalleet – Black Mountain
Aaron Dilloway & Jason Lescalleet recording a gorgeous ambient album in 2014 called Popeth, which is sadly unavailable, even as a download, now.
[Music] Jurica Jelić – Patterns Within Chaos
Jurica Jelić has been featured before in this blog, and it’s a pleasure to announce that he has a new album filled with microtonal guitar compositions. Excellent headphone listening to drift off to.
[Music] Mean Flow – Floating Thoughts
Mean Flow is a project headed by Theofil Tsiolakakis, a multi-instrumentalist out of Thessaloniki, Greece. He collaborates in this latest release with IDTAL (InDusTreeAlLace Productions) and Marco Lucchi, both consummate professionals and incredible musicians in their own right.
[Music] Cooper Raines – Storyland
My friend Cooper Raines goes by so many aliases (and yes, this, too, is an alias) that it’s sometimes hard to keep track of his work. This brand-new release, however, really stands out as a charming paean to old experimental cassette culture and the better, more cheeky work that bands like Nurse With Wound would make.
[Music] Jos Smolders – Nowhere: Exercises in Modular Synthesis and Field Recording
Many years ago, well before I had access to the Internet, I used to collect experimental music cassettes. One of the groups I enjoyed most was a Dutch collective called THU20, who featured Jos Smolders, who was also partially responsible for the seminal VITAL WEEKLY series of newsletters which, to this day, feeds my interest for new experimental music. This is Jos’ newest release, from the Portuguese label Crónica Electrónica, and it’s a lovely piece of work. Pay specific attention to track #3, which is dedicated to yours truly, a most humbling honor from a decent and talented man.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 