Many thanks to Andrew Jervis over at Bandcamp Weekly for not only sharing Sean Khan’s work but for a stellar interview with a young man who will be seen as one of the UK’s leading lights of new jazz.
Bandcamp
[Music] Zinovia Arvanitidi ~ Ivory (Happy Piano Day)
Many thanks to the writer postrockcafe over at A Closer Listen Blog for reminding us about Piano Day, a little holiday of sorts invented by Nils Frahm to take place on the 88th day of the year.
Equally important is the fact that Greek pianist Zinovia Arvanitidi, whose latest release, Ivory, was reviewed by us in February of this year, has released her debut on vinyl, courtesy of the Kitchen Label.
[Music] David Borden / Mother Mallard – The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Parts 5-8
Thanks to the Good Lord above for giving the world Steve Feigenbaum and Cuneiform Records, who continue to release, digitally, their amazing wares.
David Borden and Mother Mallard have their roots in American minimalist music. This particular release is the middle section of a 12-part series of variations for minimalism in the same way the Goldberg Variations were for Johann Sebastian Bach and classical music.
[Music] Various Artists- Heresy Records: A Map Of The Kingdom Of Ireland
Though not as long in the tooth as INA-GRM nor as exotic as the scenes in places like Egypt or Iran, it seems that Ireland has developed a venerable electroacoustic music scene which has spanned over five decades. This compilation, A Map of the Kingdom of Ireland, a compilation of Irish Electro-Acoustic music featuring works by Ireland’s most celebrated Electro-Acoustic artists, was released on March 2, 2018 by Dublin, Ireland-based Heresy Records, is quite a gem of not only electroacoustic music, but of pure, non-theoretical music of many stripes, including contemporary classical and even new wave/post-punk.
The comp starts off gently with a cut by Paul Morrin. It is a bit like a boat taken off its moorings, and drifts along until about the two-minute mark, when the tempo changes to something a bit more lively and focused – one could even say it has a post-rock feel to it, reminding me a bit of the band éf.
Tóirse Ó Ríordáin comes up next with something that feels slightly like an early Penguin Café Orchestra piece if it were composed somewhere near the border of Brazil and Colombia.
It is Daniel Figgis’ piece, Timothy Cream’s Crown of Wines, which really gets into a more freeform composition, referencing avant-garde music and perhaps Krautrock. There is a lilting, marching quality to the composition which allows one to drift off into the ether while.
Even freakier are the two pieces turned in by Dublin mainstay Roger Doyle. This is a bit away from the avant-garde – this feels more like a cleaner, more updated sound referencing Tangerine Dream. As my old Kraut friends would say, “sehr Kosmisch…”
The fun surprise of the compilation for me were the two tracks included by Princess Tinymeat (a reference to actor Montgomery Clift’s… er… shortcomings in the boudoir, I’d imagine). His (her?) back catalog is screaming for a re-release, as I haven’t come across this name since I was collecting cassettes in the late 1980s.
Finally, Spooky Ghost gets a mention for some of the most pleasant guitar work I’ve heard since Vini Reilly was in peak form with the Durutti Column in the early 80s.
There isn’t a duff track on the compilation. If you find this collection enjoyable, you may want to also consider purchasing On The Nature Of Electricity & Acoustics, another remarkable compilation curated, this time, by Figgis.
Track Listing
1. Compass – Paul Morrin
2. Atop D’Seefin (Educution remix) – Tóirse Ó Ríordáin
3. Timothy Cream’s Crown of Wines – Daniel Figgis
4. Avant Garde Your Grille – Deep Burial
5. Little Train To Heaven – Richard G. Evans with Daniel Figgis
6. Eighties Rampwalk – Roger Doyle
7. Sleep Circus (remix) – Paddy Hunt vs. Charles
8. Richard Harris Blesses The Dawn Flotilla At Guilvinec – Cathal Coughlan with the Grand Necropolitan String Band
9. Finale from The Room In The Tower – Roger Doyle
10. handsinmyhead – GREETINGS
11. DriftDin – Vincent Doherty
12. Arcticus – Donald Teskey
13. Your Majesty – Princess Tinymeat
14. Stutter – Spooky Ghost
15. Unscan Ó Malley – Tóirse Ó Ríordáin
16. MegaMix – Princess Tinymeat
17. Wandering Compass – Paul Morrin
* The digital version of the album includes the following four tracks
18. Old Piano – Vincent Doherty
19. Reverse – SOM
20. Audacity – Deafector
21. Rampwalk – Roger Doyle / Olwen Fouéré
[Music] Nu Guinea – Nuova Napoli
Nu Guinea are a couple of lads from a city which has given me a lot of pleasure and a fair amount of both headaches and heartaches, Naples. Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina will be releasing their latest album, an homage of sorts to their hometown, on April 7th.
The one track they have offered as a sample of what’s to come is a very funky affair reminiscent of the work of Tony Allen. You hear disco, funk and Afrobeat rolled into a rather amazing package.
[Music] Richter Scale – A Ripple on the Richter Scale
In 2008, Legendary Pink Dots members Edward Ka-Spel and The Silverman trekked over to Chile where they made a collaboration of Michel Leroy of Un Festín Sagital, Chile’s finest experimental neofolk group.
This hazy, drony, Krauty improvisation is the fruit of their meeting. Stunningly hypnotic work.
[Music] Fujiya & Miyagi – Transparent Things
No, Fujiya & Miyagi are not Japanese, though the name apparently comes from a brand of record players and a memorable character from the movie The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi, played by long-time actor Pat Morita. They’re Brighton lads, and they do a stunningly good impression of Neu! and similar Krautrock bands.
[Music] El Arca de Valjós – La Pálida Alma Humana
I love Mexican progressive rock, especially when it’s avant-progressive. Many great bands came down the beltway from Mexico, especially from the capital. El Arca de Valjós seems to be keeping the avant-prog tradition alive, and it’s wonderful to hear.
[Music] Mulatu Astatke and Black Jesus Experience – Cradle Of Humanity
There’s no one even close in the running of who is the King of Ethio-jazz. Until he passes on from this mortal coil, this title is Mulatu Astatke’s to keep.
This record is from May of 2016, and it features him pairing up with the Australian jazz collective Black Jesus Experience. This is the first I’ve heard of them, but they meld quite nicely with Mulatu’s vibraphone-based works.
[Music] Barrio Latino Hungría – Está Como Va
¡Sabor! I didn’t expect something so salsa-ish to ever come from Hungary, but Barrio Latino Hungría does a stellar job in updating the Latin Jazz sound quite nicely.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 