Our friend Santiago Fradejas has returned with his most powerful album to date. From what I understand, these soundscapes were all done with an electric guitar. He makes the most out of his weapon of choice, convincingly straddling the terrains of instrumental amplified guitar music, post-Industrial, and a very eerie take on contemporary classical/avant-garde music.
Progressive Rock
[Music] The Hare And The Moon – The Hare And The Moon
The Hare And The Moon were a folk horror (yes, it’s a genre) band out of Scotland who finally ended their run in early 2017 after a string of astounding discs.
This disc seems to be the first one they released in 2009. Their sound reminds me of early Current 93, especially during the period when they released Swastikas For Noddy (Goddy). A truly exquisite gem in all of its weirdness.
[Music] BlindººCoyote – A Beginner’s Guide To Hard Hat Color Coding
A Beginner’s Guide To Hard Hat Color Coding is a new project by BlindººCoyote, longstanding monicker of Drem Bruinsma, a Dutch-born composer now based in Alicante, Spain, whose work under this moniker reminds me of peak-period Cluster finding a bit of time to carouse with an early-wave Industrial band (think Cabaret Voltaire’s more daring experimental work than the dark funk they would produce during their heyday). It would make sense, as BlindººCoyote has been alive as a project since the early 1990s, and this particular sound to me is timeless. The project has been active (with some periods of non-activity) since its first 1993 release, Phantom Pain/Genkaku no Itami, a project which stemmed from a collaboration with legendary jazz fusion trumpeter Toshinori Kondo.
There’s something very kosmisch about this particular release, though it has flourishes of a cold, metallic bent. This floats surprisingly easily and envelops this listener into a dreamy, lulling feeling. There’s also a reminiscence of sounds made by such acts as BlindººCoyote’s one-time collaborators Tuxedomoon (he wrote scores for video, dance, theatre and collaborated with the individual members of Tuxedomoon, amongst others).
As a side note, and quite a tasty one, the first track on this EP, Chapter One: Red Hard Hat Area, will also appear on the compilation Radio Nautilus, released by No Records on June 1.
To explore more of BlindººCoyote’s works, visit his Bandcamp site here, and his Reverb Nation site here.
[Music] Bi Kyo Ran – Parallax
Thanks to Guy Segers for publishing this classic of Japanese progressive rock.
Bi Kyo Ran were rather unfairly tagged as a Japanese King Crimson clone. By this album, that image was finally shed.
They are apparently still active doing soundtracks for TV shows in Japan, but I can’t imagine any of the new material having the power of this disc.
[Music] Canturbe – Flotteur
This disc was a wonderful find! Canturbe were an Argentian progressive rock band working out of Buenos Aires. Their sound is classic prog, but with touches of metal, folkloric music and even tango on one track. Argentine reissue specialists Viajero Inmovil have released another stunner.
[Music] Alexandre Navarro – Imaginations
Checking out the tags at the bottom of his Bandcamp page, I noticed that Alexandre Navarro’s latest release, Imaginations, is listed as post-rock. Absolutely, positively not!
This has more of a feeling brought out in albums by classic artists like Harmonia, a touch of Popol Vuh and maybe even the Russian soundtrack composer Edward Artemiev. This is mellow, has a wonderful 70’s vibe and makes for a nice way indulge in headphone listening.
[Music] The Vryll Society – Andrei Rublev
You have to be something else to make a song called Andrei Rublev, especially one with a Krautrock influence. Nice one, lads!
Liverpool psych-pop five-piece The Vryll Society have released a new single, “Andrei Rublev.”
The band are currently working on their debut album, and have released a series of singles and an EP titled Pangea through famed Liverpool indie label Deltasonic Records (The Coral, The Zutons, White Room). The band recently supported The Kooks, Blossoms and The Coral in the U.K., and they also made an appearance at last year’s SXSW festival in Austin.
Their stunningly beautiful new song, “Andrei Rublev” is as mellowing as it is hypnotic, with frontman Mike Ellis’ calming lead vocals, their kraut-rock rhythm section, lush synth soundscapes and intricate psych guitar lines. The song’s raw power sneaks up on listeners with its trotting bass line and shimmering Procol Harum-esque keyboards before it erupts with euphoric sonic textures and biting guitar solos.
The Vryll Society’s new track’s title refers to a 1966 Soviet historical drama of the…
View original post 26 more words
[Music] Leila Abdul-Rauf – Diminution
The first time I came across San Francisco, California resident Leila Abdul-Rauf’s name was when she was playing with the all-female avant-garde metal/dark ambient band Amber Asylum. She has become a far more powerful musician as time has passed (if you know anything about her previous work, that’s very high praise), and, given the brutal darkness of the one track shared, this new album should end up quaking my speakers rather badly (and yes, I’m looking forward to that).
The album is due to be released on April 13.
[Music] Cuasares – Afro-Progresivo
Guerssen Records out of Barcelona reissue a very mellow, rather nicely acid-washed slab of Argentinian psych courtesy of a band called Cuasares (Quazars).
Outside of the link provided, I have no info on the band, and it’s a shame there isn’t much more to tell you about these guys other than this is nice, funky, and damn near danceable.
[Music] Various Artists – Planeta Post-Rock: Flama
Planeta Post-Rock is a (you guessed it) post-rock label out of Portugal. So far, from what I gather, they have made four compilations, with Flama being their most recent. It was released on April 1, so it’s all of a few days old, and it paints a great picture of what the post-rock and post-metal scene must be like old Lusitania.
If you feel like purchasing the whole catalog for 3 Euros, click on this link here.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 