Adorable were an English band made up of band members Pete Fijalkowski (vocals, guitar), Robert Dillam (guitar), Stephen ‘Wil’ Williams (bass) and Kevin Gritton (drums). They produced, to my ears, one of the best shoegaze songs of the early 1990s. A truly gorgeous, shimmery track!
Rock
[Music] Kismet – Love Will Tear Us Apart
Every time I go to Skopje, there is always someone who asks why on Earth I’d bother to come and stay such long periods of time in what they feel is an insignificant city in the heart of the Balkans. You can thank this song, the disc it came on, and a friendship with Gorazd Capovski and Ilija Stojanovski, for this.
I had worked at Tone Casualties records as an A&R Manager, and came across this disc while at my evening job, buying weird music for Aron’s Records (RIP). I had passed through what was then Yugoslavia a few years past, and knew a bit about Macedonian music, but the combination of goth/darkwave and an ethnic, Byzantine sound, came as a huge revelation. I never, in a million years, thought Love Will Tear Us Apart would sound perfect with bagpipes. A pleasant surprise which still strikes a chord after 20 years.
[Music] Villagers of Ioannina City – Krasi
This is beautifully weird, and I have my dear brother, Yasen Kazandjiev, to thank for it.
This sounds like Greek folk music gone somewhere between post-punk and psychedelic music. As if Joy Division discovered the pleasures of lamb and ouzo. I’m looking forward to watching Villagers of Ioannina City grow and develop this sound!
[Music] Gloria Jones – Tainted Love
Everyone knows the great cover Soft Cell did of this classic 60s slab of soul, but few remember that this cut by Gloria Jones is the original!
[Music] Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing (Old Grey Whistle Test, 1978)
I never could understand the fascination my friends in Eastern Europe had with Dire Straits. I saw them as nothing more than a white-boy blues band trying to act cool, yet I never bothered to give their early work a chance. After hearing this, I think I get it now.
I was a fan of guitarist Mark Knopfler’s work outside of Dire Straits, especially his collaboration with Chet Atkins. I can finally appreciate his roots now.
[Music] 26 Best Anatolian Rock & Turkish Psychedelic Rock Songs
Turkish rock is amazing! From Moğollar to Barış Manço and Erkin Koray, there are a wealth of treasures to be found from Anatolia during the 1960s and 70s.
ATDAA does a fine job compiling some of the best here. If you have any further listening suggestions, feel free to get a Disqus account and post them in the comments section.
[Video] Ólafur Arnalds -Epilogue
Ólafur Arnalds produces the sort of gorgeous music Iceland seems to be noted for. He comes from an electronic/techno background, but his understanding of composition shows in his delicate compositions.
[Video] Morte Macabre – Symphonic Holocaust
Morte Macabre are a supergroup made up of members of Swedish bands Landberk and Anekdoten. Deep prog rock roots here.
[Video] Swans – Mona Lisa, Mother Earth
I suppose some would call this The Swans’ ‘Joy Division’ phase. The album, The Burning World, showed a marked change in direction from a band who had previously sounded like the equivalent of a drunken brontosaurus stumbling into his cave after a healthy drinking binge (and yes, that’s a good thing). Since they reformed, their sound continues to adapt and grow. They are as vital a band now as they were in the beginning.
[Video] Heldon – In Wake Of King Fripp
I never quite agreed with Heldon (a.k.a. Richard Pinhas) being labeled as the French Robert Fripp. He’s his own man, and has come up with some rather amazing sounds on his own. Still, it’s quite something to hear Richard perform this paean to Frippertronics.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 