soundstreamsunday: “Waltz of the New Moon” by The Incredible String Band — Progarchy

Although there is the potential today for historically reconstructing The Incredible String Band as a folksy psychedelic sideshow, the core group of Mike Heron and Robin Williamson were among the most imaginative and deeply schooled of the musicians emerging out of Britain’s folk revival in the late 1960s. Succored by Joe Boyd and Elektra records, the band […]

via soundstreamsunday: “Waltz of the New Moon” by The Incredible String Band — Progarchy

[Music] Vyacheslav Potapov (VP) – Water World

Prog is alive and well in… Kazakhstan?! Yes! Thanks to incredible labels highlighting talent worldwide like Cuneiform and MoonJune Records, we’re finding out about avant-progressive music from places like Indonesia, Belarus, and other faraway locales. VP is based in Kazakhstan’s former capital city, Almaty, and his music reminds me of such groups like Univers Zero, Art Zoyd, and modern bands like Rational Diet from Belarus. We need to hear much more from them.

[Music] Hans-Joachim Roedelius & Noël Akchoté – Opus (2013)

To review each and every release by Noël Akchoté would be impossible for this one-man blog to do, but I have the luxury of cherry-picking some real treats. This one, in particular, pairs Noël with Hans-Joachim Roedelius of Cluster fame, as well as a maestro in his own right. The album is a guitar/piano improvisation recorded in Vienna, Austria in 2013. Gentle, plucky sounds which cross into fusion territory at times.

[Music] Andrew Rubin and Jon Anderson – Guitar Concerto

This gem came as a surprise in my email box. Andrew Rubin is a classical guitarist based in Central California. He was apparently discovered by Jon Anderson of yes, and they collaborated on this suite, influenced in part by the work of Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo.

He’s 21 years old, making some of the most joyous music I’ve heard in some time. Imagine what he’s going to be capable of at 40. Andrew is going to be one worth following closely.

[Music] Hedningarna – Räven

Hedningarna are a Swedish folk band which also had Finnish members not too terribly long ago. I came across their music while looking at a pile of promos sitting on the desk of a World Music buyer at the shop I had worked at, which were delivered to us by a local Rykodisc distributor. The quality of the sub-label representing the band, Northside Records, was phenomenal. There will surely be more of these folk bands posted here in the future.