Pianist Carla Bley continues to make gorgeous music. We lost Charlie Haden not too long ago. The album, bearing the same name, was named the Best Album in Down Beat Magazine’s Critic’s Poll.
Experimental Music
[Music] Afghanistan’s Institute of Music
All due credit and respect goes to my dear brother Paolo Merolla, who pointed me to this article from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Afghanistan has a magnificent music tradition, and though the place is still a hotbed of Satanic Taliban butchery, people have decided to revive their culture piece by piece.
[Music] Bulat Gafarov – Ya JAleyka
I can’t say that I know much about Bulat Gafarov personally, other than he’s both a fine multi-instrumentalist and a friend on Facebook, but he’s really quite an amazing talent. An ethnic Russia, he’s comfortable with music from India, China and Central Asia, as well as the regional music of places like Tatarstan and Siberia.
[Music] RIP Dieter Moebius
Extremely sad news today. The Quietus reports that Dieter Moebius, one-half of the legendary Cluster, along with Hans-Joachim Roedelius, a collaborator with Michael Rother in their Harmonia project, as well as Brian Eno, and a source of influence for so many musicians who delved into making electronic music, passed away today at the age of 71.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dieter and Achim a few times as they would pass through my home on tour. I wish his wife, Irene, Achim and his family, and all those who worked with him, much comfort in the days ahead.
[Music] Villagers of Ioannina City – Krasi
This is beautifully weird, and I have my dear brother, Yasen Kazandjiev, to thank for it.
This sounds like Greek folk music gone somewhere between post-punk and psychedelic music. As if Joy Division discovered the pleasures of lamb and ouzo. I’m looking forward to watching Villagers of Ioannina City grow and develop this sound!
[Music] Susumu Yokota Has Died
Terrible news from The WIRE. Susumu Yokota, ambient DJ and composer extraordinaire, passed away from complications in March of this year, but the family only recently made a public announcement of his passing.
You can read The WIRE obituary here, as well as notes from FACT Magazine, The Leaf Label and Natalie.mu.
To hear some of Susuma’s work, check out Gekkoh below:
[Art] Paintings With Angels, by Arrington Dionysio and His Mother
Arrington de Dionyso is a composer and musician whose work first caught my attention when he played with the band Old Time Relijun. He continues to produce amazing, eclectic music, but it seems his talent is inherited. He and his mother worked on these two gorgeous works of art, reminding one of the works on a more psychedelic Byzantine icon, or the religious works of Marc Chagall.
May both mother and son find comfort in these difficult days.
[Music] Bernard Parmegiani – Espèces d’espaces
One of Bernard Parmegiani’s 21st Century compositions. Still very much avant-garde.
[Sample] Bjørnar Habbestad – Solo live at Landmark, June 2015
It pays to scroll through various social media from time to time. Today’s Soundcloud scroll brought me to the music of Bjørnar Habbestad, a Norwegian composer of avant-garde and improvisational music. I don’t know if this particular piece is part of a CD or just a live improv, but this made for some incredibly good listening this afternoon.
[Video] Ólafur Arnalds -Epilogue
Ólafur Arnalds produces the sort of gorgeous music Iceland seems to be noted for. He comes from an electronic/techno background, but his understanding of composition shows in his delicate compositions.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 