Wonderful news, courtesy of Vinyl Factory’s blog: Les Chemins De Katmandou, a soundtrack by Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier presumed to be lost, will be reissued by Finders Keepers!
Bandcamp
[Music] Various Artists – Don’t Let Me Be Lost To You B-Sides: Albanian, Armenian, Greek, Jewish & Turkish Music from the Me Re, Balkan, Metropolitan & Kaliphon Labels
Canary Records owner (and a rather fine experimental musician himself) Ian Nagoski should be commended for his work in bringing to life so many wonderful albums from the turn of the 20th Century cut by Balkan and Jewish musicians who left their home countries and made quite good names for themselves in places like New York City. These recordings are lovingly restored, and apparently are leftover tracks transferred from 78rpm discs for a forthcoming 5-volume / 6-LP series to be issued in early 2019. Considering how lovingly Ian treats this material, this upcoming collection sounds like a grand project!
[Music] Subact – The Dubsquad EP
I have to thank my friend Yasen Kazandjiev for quite a few upcoming reviews of some of the most intriguing music I’ve heard in some time, starting with this EP by Dresden-based band Subact.
There are elements of bands like Ozric Tentacles and other psychedelic prog groups as well as sample work reminiscent of Front 242 and other Electronic Body Music bands from Belgium and Canada which I grew up listening to. This music is thoroughly modern, but it also hearkens back to an era when sampling technology was new. Martin Grellmann and company have done stunning work balancing past and present with this release.
[Music] Kauan – Kaiho
[Music] Hoodna Orchestra – Yelben/Beza (Single)
Ethiopian music is doing rather well in Israel, if this new single by the Hoodna Orchestra is any indication of what’s going on there. The first track is a warm paean to old 60s and 70s music out of Addis Ababa, and the next is pure dub meatiness.
[Music] Stanislas Tolon – Dans le Tchink Système
Yet another African music reissue specialist has popped up. This time, it’s Hot Casa Records out of Paris, France. Their latest is a remastered gem from Beninois singer Stanislas Tolon which was recorded in Ghana in 1979.
[Music] Astral & Shit – бесконечный трепет цвета (увядание)
Nevyansk, Russia’s Astral & Shit have scores of releases out of Bandcamp. This is their most recent; an album full of long, dark, spacey tracks which don’t do too much but drone on and on in a pleasant, almost enveloping way.
[Music] Edward Ka-Spel – High On Station Yellow Moon
Though I loathe that I can’t simply buy a download from Edward Ka-Spel (too many of his latest Bandcamp releases are truncated version so that you’re forced to buy a hard copy, be it vinyl or CD), that’s his prerogative. The music is up to the standards one expects from the Legendary Pink Dots‘ frontman.
[Music] JOHN 3:16 – Sinner’s Prayer
Wave after wave of beautifully crunchy, hypnotic drone is what makes JOHN 3:16’s new release (a reissue from 2011, apparently), a 30-minute affair, so appealing. The guitar playing is so heavily textured that you feel like a sonic blanket has wrapped you up, making you forget, albeit temporarily, the vagaries of the world. Drone music tends to be hazy, but this release would have been a stunner during the psychedelic 1970s as much as it is today.
This is a stunning mini-album. Many compliments to Philippe Gerber, JOHN 3:16’s leader and guitarist, for pointing me to this reissue.
[Music] Oriol Roca Trio – Mar
Oriol Roca is a percussionist based out of Barcelona, Spain who has collaborated with improvisers like Jan Bang and Paolo Angeli. It seems the local Barcelona jazz and improv scene is becoming one of the best in the world.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 