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.
New Releases
[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.
[Music] Various Artists – Zanzibara / Volume Nº1
This is a mindblowing compilation of Tanzanian music when the country was not yet united (Zanzibar and Tanganyika were apart just before they came together in 1964). German ethnomusicologist Werner Graebner, producer of the Zanzibara series on Buda Musique, is responsible for putting this comp together for French label Ouch! Records. Give the whole album a deep listen. Much rumba, taraab and Swahilia popular music styles to be found here.
[Music] Tom Waits – Small Change (Remastered)
Today is a very happy day! It loooks like Tom Waits’ seminal albums, including Small Change, my favorite of this batch, have been remastered for Bandcamp!
[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] Various Artists – Nostress Netlabel Anniversary Compilation Number 7: The Quantum Differences of Universal Sounds
This is one of the few times you won’t see me share a Bandcamp link for a release like this. My colleague Andrey Kireyev let me know about this release, and I’m very much thankful he did!
Nostress Netlabel isn’t a one-trick-pony label. The genres covered include Psychedelic, Post Rock, Avant-garde, Electronic and Electroacoustic music. The breadth of what they are covering is incredible, and the label is offering this compilation as a FLAC file release for free.
This is a great way to acquaint yourself with one of the best netlabels operating today.
[Music] Various Artists: The Blog That Celebrates Itself: Girl Groups – The Underground Versions
The Blog That Celebrates Itself (TBTCI) has become one of my go-to labels for great covers of indie and post-punk music done in a style not unlike shoegaze music. This one is a gem because the theme is girl groups, and each of these Brazilian unknowns does a stand-up job reworking the originals into something quite modern-sounding,
[Music] Rasa Serra & Saulius Petreikis – Dzūkija
Multi-instrumentalist Saulius Petreikis pairs with fellow Lithuanian musician, the vocalist Rasa Serra. It’s ethereal music that would, in some way, appeal to fans of Dead Can Dance as well as those who enjoy Baltic music in general.
[Music] The Myrrors – Arena Negra
I’m not sure about the other bands in Tuscon, Arizona, but local lads The Myrrors are swimming in a sea of sludge and LSD. This is slow, plodding, and very, very effecting stoner rock.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 