Imagine a Japanese Tina Turner clone singing on top of a muffled, claustrophobia-inducing drum & bass track upholding a 60s soul groove. This is the glorious mess Thomas Gerendás and his collaborators have made.
Music Downloads
[Music] THE POST-DECADENT SINGERS by THE POST-DECADENT SINGERS
I don’t know what is going on in France that is drawing in such amazing talent from outside her borders (it’s probably the incredibly good quality of local performers who are developing massive catalogs and worldwide respect for their bodies of work), but the country is seeing a small explosion of creativity. One case-in-point is the Mexican guitarist Hector Javier Ayala. He has begun releasing some incredible CDs recently (his newest will be reviewed here soon, but this particular album was done in collaboration with drummer Cedric Lemaire. The recordings are sparse, but gel together quite nicely. A lot of the material reminded be of Derek Bailey and is free improvisations with percussionists around the world.
[Music] Sonar – Black Light
Cuneiform Records can do no wrong to these ears. Sonar are a band out of Switzerland who produced a tight, punchy post-rock that made for enjoyable evening listening.
[Music] Sauce Llorón – Sauce Llorón EP
This charming EP by Sauce Llorón came during a late night stumble on Tumblr. It seems like it’s a combination of Mexican folk music and something that Yann Tiersen might come up with.
[Music] Santiago Fradejas – Sketches For Sarah, Vol. 2
I had the pleasure of reviewing Mrs. Fradejas a couple of days ago, and now it’s time to review Mr. Fradejas! Santiago’s new release sits in an equally unique point on the music reference chart. One can find something akin to post-Industrial noise, a brutalist interpretation of contemporary classical music, improvisation in the fine European-American free jazz tradition, and avant-progressive rock which labels like Cuneiform Records champion. Another masterpiece by one of the best young composers operating in Europe today.
[Music] Shoom – Tried To Sing But Couldn’t
Thirteen years ago, I was given an opportunity to work with Shoom, an Israeli band whose sound nestles comfortably within the realm of Mediterranean ethnocore, avant-rock and ethno-rock, a term I’ve not heard in quite some time, but which seems appropriate for this band.
Lots of percussion and guitars flow quite nicely with a duduk making melodies on top. Definitely worth a listen to this album, as well as their back catalog.
[Music] Troum – Acouasme
Stefan Knappe is a man who wears many hats. He runs Drone Records, which releases some of the best in dark ambient and experimental music, and serves as both a mailorder and distributor of music not directly found on his label as well.
The talent we wish to concentrate on is as a composer with his project TROUM. In this release from 2015, Knappe unleashes a cascade of some of the darkest experimental music I’ve heard in some time. It is dark, however, in a way that is not vulgar or cheap, as too so-called ‘noise’ bands are wont to be. You won’t hear any children with vile fetishes for rapists or serial killers who turn on their vacuum cleaners and try to sell this as ‘music’. No, in this case, Knappe actually goes through the process of crafting something worthy of being a soundtrack to a very intense film. There is a lot of sub-bass throbbing and pulsating, but all of it done with the precision of a master surgeon who knows how to weild his scalpel. TROUM is always releasing music of note, or collaborating with others to do the same.
If you have a Bandcamp account, follow his work. You will find no disappointments there.
[Music] A.M Ferrari Fradejas – Dominique Worships The Sun
A.M Ferrari Fradejas is a composer based in France who also happens to be the wife of noted guitarist and composer Santiago Frajedas, whose amazing work has graced these pages in the past. Ferreri Frajedas’ new release is an absolute delight to listen to, and it came as a shock to my ears.
I was expecting progressive rock, and I was rewarded with that in spades. What I didn’t expect to find was a deep thread of ethereal music, some of which reminded me of past bands like Chandeen or Love Is Colder Than Death. There is also a touch of cabaret music here, as well as reminisces of groups like Slapp Happy, Henry Cow and Dagmar Krause’s solo work. Fans of Laurie Anderson might find something familiar here as well.
It was weird, hazy, and utterly fun listening for me.
[Music] vivienxo – w84u
vivienxo is a Finnish musician who does ‘dreampop’. I have no idea what the genre really is, but there’s a lovely, muffled sound to it that reminds me of old 80s dreampop that I’m familiar with, such as bands like Dream Academy. Definitely worth investigating further.
[Music] Mary Halvorson & Noël Akchoté – Mary Halvorson & Noël Akchoté
I have to admit that I’ve been waiting for such a release to come about for a while now. Noël Akchoté, perhaps the most prolofic guitarist working in improvisational music today (and maintaining astoundingly high quality throughout each release) pairs with NYC-based Mary Halvorson, a guitarist I have only become acquainted with this past year. This is a purely improvised duet, with no rehearsals, recorded in Belgium this year.
For those who already collect the work of Noël Akchoté, this will be another treasure to add to your collection. As for Mary’s work, this is a fine introduction, which makes me want to delve into her solo work.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 