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.
CDs
[Music] Bram Tchaikovsky – Strange Men Changed Men The Complete Recordings 1978-1981
It didn’t seem right that Bram Tchaikovsky was one of the great forgotten sons of Power Pop (along with Brinsley Schwarz), but this blog post gives the man (and the band) his fair due. Much respect to The Fat Angel Sings Blog for posting this originally.
Born Peter Bramall in November 1950, Bram Tchaikovsky first came to prominence as a member of the pub rock band The Motors in 1977, subsequent to playing in several local rock bands in Lincolnshire during the late ‘60s. Following his decision to leave The Motors, Bram opted to form his own eponymous power pop band, with Mike Broadbent on bass and keyboards, and Keith Boyce on drums. The trio signed to the Radar label in 1978 and went on to achieve a US Top 40 hit in 1979 with ‘Girl of My Dreams’. Several band member changes and two albums later, Bram Tchaikovsky made the decision to split from the band and retire from the music business entirely.
This lovingly assembled package, fully endorsed by Bram Tchaikovsky himself, contains all three BramTchaikovsky albums Strange Man, Changed Man (1979), The Russians Are Coming (1980) and Funland (1981), plus all…
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[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] 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] 20 Years of Southern Lord’s Dark and Heavy Art
The label’s roster has always featured a wide breadth of sonic explorers, from ambient artists through very heavy metal and post-metal acts to jazz fusion.
via 20 Years of Southern Lord’s Dark and Heavy Art — Bandcamp Daily
It’s amazing to think that this label has been around for 20 years, and I missed a good fifteen of those due to ignorance. May they have another happy 20.
[Music] Five-Storey Ensemble – Not That City
Not a lot of bands are coming out of Belarus at the moment, but Five-Storey Ensemble are about the best working out of Minsk today. They are the standard bearers for the modern Rock-In-Opposition movement.
[Music] Alapastel – Hidden for the Eyes
I’ve been spending a lot of time listening to releases by James Murray’s beautifully-curated label Slowcraft Records. This one by Alapastel, at least given the two tracks available currently (the whole album will be released on March 9), seems to be the gem of the collection so far.
Lukáš Bulko (the aforementioned Alapastel) is a composer out of Slovakia, where a lot of amazing independent music is coming out of these days. He manages to patch together a mesmerizing blend of contemporary classical music, a touch of musique concrète, and maybe a speck of post-rock in a way not dissimilar to Ólafur Arnalds. I’m very much looking forward to following which direction Lukáš will go in the future.
For a more in-depth review, I recommend visiting Dan’s review over at Fluid Radio.
[Music] Ernesto Chahoud – Ernesto Chahoud presents TAITU – Soul-fuelled Stompers from 1960s – 1970s Ethiopia
Lebanese DJ and crate-digger supreme Ernesto Chahoud has done sterling work collecting some of the most impressive 7-inch sides to come out of Ethiopia. BBE Records has done a great job in remastering and packaging this collection. What I’m looking most forward to is seeing the 3-LP collection. It looks gorgeous.
[Music] Camarão – The imaginary Soundtrack to a Brazilian Western Movie
Analog Africa’s clutches are reaching out farther and wider with this release by Brazilian legend Camarão. It’s a reissue of work he did in around 1960 and is a lively mix of ethnic music, cha-cha, accordion music and something you would hear in a very hazy, psychedelic Spaghetti Western.
Expect this release to ship out starting on February 20, 2018. It’s been well worth the wait!
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 